Lost Child
by Evil Amplified
Summary: How many times did he have to do this to get it right? That was the one question that kept going through Chris' mind and how many more times would he get it wrong? Season 6, AU, Revelation fic.
1. Take Us Home

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed universe belongs to me. I am receiving no monetary gain from this fic and will return all of the characters in relatively good health. Well most of them.

**Summary:** How many times did he have to do this to get it right? That was the one question that kept going through Chris' mind and how many more times would he get it wrong?

**A/N:** Well this was a little idea that came to my mind yesterday and hasn't left me alone since. It is an AU of Season Six, where Chris comes back in time, not before he is born, but instead later in time to a point where Wyatt is 8 years old and there apparently is no Christopher Halliwell or maybe there is. So who is he? And what must he put himself threw to make sure that certain parts of history repeat themselves, while others change? As a side note in this fic no one knows that Chris is not a full Whitelighter yet and they don't know that Wyatt is the evil from Chris' future either. As in all my fics _Italics_ represent either an unspoken thought or a memory.

**Second A/N**: Yes, I know, I haven't finished my other story Second Existence and I am going to but this plot bunny took a really big bite out of me and I had to get it on paper. I have no clue how long this story is going to be and honestly only have a vague idea of where it's going, but that's how most of my best stories start out, so I guess that's a good thing. I shall update as soon as I can and only after I work on Second Existence first.

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**Chapter 1 Take Us Home**

As Chris orbed into the Manor kitchen he was surprised to see that all three of the Charmed Ones were sitting at the breakfast bar sharing a cup of coffee and some lighthearted sisterly chat. He glanced at the clock above the sink and frowned. Normally Piper would be the only one left there by ten o'clock but it seemed as if neither of the other two sisters were planning on moving from their comfortable positions. "Did I miss something? Is it a holiday?"

"Good morning, Chris," Piper said scowling slightly at the intrusion. "And as an answer to your question, in a way it is. We have declared this the official Halliwell non-magic, non-worry, non-work and especially non-demon hunting holiday. Leo even took Wyatt 'up there' so we could relax some."

Chris' eyebrows shot up at that statement and he scowled slightly. He was beginning to think that if they had their way everyday would be a holiday from their Wiccan duties. "You can't do that," he said folding his arms over his chest.

"And why not?" Phoebe asked smiling sweetly at the young Whitelighter.

Chris walked over to the calendar on the wall and started pointing out dates both past and future alike. "Because you've tried it before and believe me, you'll try it again, but every time you do something has and always will mess it up." With that he flipped the calendar back to the current month and shook his head at it but then froze as he looked at the x's that had been marked through dates that had already gone by. "Wait, is today May 11th?"

Piper had been about to tell Chris that even though they hadn't succeeded yet she was willing to give the non-magical holiday another chance or as many as it took to get one normal day in her life. But his frozen stare pulled her own face to the calendar. "Yes, it is," she said simply not remembering anything special about the date.

"Oh, hell, oh hell, this can't be," he said his voice beginning to panic. His face had become pale and he turned to run from the room and headed up the stairs two at a time. The sisters, curious as to his strange actions, followed at a slightly slower pace up to the attic where they were surprised to see Chris throwing every one of their backup potions into a leather pouch muttering to himself. "So caught up in saving Wyatt, that I completely forgot. How could I do that? If I mess this one up everything will be lost. Damnit!"

"Chris, what exactly is going on?" Paige asked in quite a bit of suspicion. She had never seen him act this way before. On any other day he would have been calm and collected if not bitchy but today he honestly seemed afraid of something but what none of them could even guess.

"We have to go on a demon hunt," he finally answered zipping the pouch and throwing it to Paige.

Piper's confusion turned into anger at those words. "What did I say downstairs? No demon hunts today. Whatever it is can wait till tomorrow."

Chris head moved back and forth vigorously at her words. "No, no it can't. Not this one. It has to be today and it has to be you three and especially you, Piper."

"What are you not telling us, Chris?" Phoebe asked catching stray bits of emotion wafting off of the normally unreadable Whitelighter. She had to admit that what she was feeling was frightening her.

Chris licked his lips, not sure what all to reveal but then nodded making up his mind what would be safe to say. "There's an innocent you need to save, a very important innocent."

"Oh geez, Chris. All innocents are important," Paige countered. Of course they would go and save the innocent but that still didn't explain Chris' fearful actions. And they were all beyond tired of the secrets.

"I know that, Paige, but if you lose this one it can significantly ruin a large part of all of your futures and none of you will ever even realize it." Chris hoped that his vague words would be enough to get them moving, but as he saw the confused looks on their face he knew they weren't gonna go for it. "What do I have to say to get you to leave right now to save this innocent?"

"How about starting with some truth?" Piper answered icily. "Who is it that we have to save?"

Chris growled with frustration. He knew he could have just orbed out and did the vanquish himself but he also knew just how important it was for Piper to be the one who saved this particular innocent. "Fine, if you must know the truth, he's your son, Piper. Or at least he will be once you and Leo adopt him."

Piper's jaw dropped and her mouth formed a perfect 'o' as her eyes became large. "My what?"

"Listen, we don't have time for this. With all of the concentration I've been putting into finding the threat to Wyatt, I forgot about your other son. He's in a lot of trouble right now and I hate to imagine what the demons will do to him if you don't save him." Chris was desperate. He was almost willing to spill all of his secrets just to assure that Piper would go and find that child.

Piper closed her mouth and nodded quickly. "We have a lot of talking to do later, Chris," she said walking over to grab his arm. "Where is he?"

"The underworld. Follow my orb trail, Paige," he called out orbing he and Piper down below.

When they arrived in the underworld Chris started explaining exactly what was going on. "In my original timeline you came down here searching for a clan of demons that were terrorizing witches above, but I guess all the other demon hunting I've been having you do has kept you from getting involved in that yet."

Piper began to remember something then that they had forgotten to look into. "That's right. When Leo came to visit Wyatt the other day he mentioned a new threat to witches but I was the only one home. Paige and Phoebe were with you on a vanquish and then I sort of forgot about it."

"Damn this is just too close. You should have found him early this morning. We are several hours late." As they spoke Chris led them through darkened tunnels that he knew should have held Karas demons. They were the demons that were holding the child and he knew that they should have been in these particular tunnels. "Going by the original timeline you should have vanquished the clan and then found him hiding in one of these caves. It took every ounce of persuasion you had to get him to come with you, Piper."

"Is he a human child, Chris?" Phoebe asked cautiously. What would a human child be doing with demons?

"Don't tell me I adopt a demon, Chris. I don't think I can handle that," Piper asked incredulously.

"No, he's not a demon. He's actually a Witchlighter, like Paige," he explained hesitantly. He wasn't sure if maybe he was giving out too much information now.

"Like me. But that's forbidden. I thought Wyatt and I were the only ones." Paige was so surprised to hear that there was another person out there that shared something as unique as she and Wyatt did.

Just at that moment they rounded the corner and saw exactly what they were looking for. There were over a dozen demons in the cavern and one of them was holding a small boy several feet above the ground with its hand wrapped around his throat. They could all see the struggle the boy was putting up as he kicked out at the beast. "I grow tired of you child. I think it's time you go to another clan," the demon was saying from behind a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. "That is if we don't just eat you first."

A whimper came from the child as his whole body slumped petrified in utter fear.

Piper wanted to scream in outrage at what she was seeing. The boy was very small and couldn't have been much older than five or six years old and he looked dirty and malnourished. It was enough to make any decent mother see red and that wasn't even taking into consideration all of the bruises she could see on his pale face and arms. Her hands immediately shot out blowing the demon to bits that was holding him as Paige reached out and called, "Boy." The boy disappeared in blue and white orbs and reappeared in Paige's arms just before he would have fallen to the ground. Paige sat him down and forced him behind them as she and her sisters went about destroying the entire clan of demons.

When the last demon exploded Piper quickly turned to make sure the child was safely behind them, but to her surprise he was no where to be seen. "Where is he?" she asked in complete fear.

Chris also looked around but did not seem at all surprised not to see the child there. "I'm sure he's hiding. That's what he did before after you vanquished the clan."

"But why? We are the good guys. The ones who are trying to save him," Phoebe asked not understanding why the child would fear them also.

"Listen, I've already told you too much. You've got to figure the rest out yourself. I'll be at the Manor trying to figure out the next most likely threat to Wyatt." With that Chris orbed out leaving three very angry women behind.

"I swear I'm gonna blow him up one of these days," Piper growled as she headed into the next adjoining chamber and looked all around for any place the child might hide. Phoebe and Paige followed her as they searched from chamber to chamber.

They all knew that most of the day had ticked by as they searched for the small child but none of them were willing to give up just yet. After what Chris had said about this boy being Piper and Leo's adopted son there was just no way they could give up on him. Finally they had found their way into a chamber that disgusted all of them. There were several stone tables erected and on each table lay a motionless corpse. "Oh, gross, what is this?" Paige asked holding her nose at the smell of rotting corpses.

"This is my chamber and none of you belong here," a voice said from a doorway to their left. They all noticed a demon that looked no different from any man standing there looking in surprise at the unwelcome guests.

That's when they heard it. It was barely audible but there was a soft cry coming from under one of the tables. The demon's face scrunched into a snarl as he quickly circled one of the stone tables looking for the source of the sound. "Is that you, whelp? I told you if I ever found you near my bodies again I'd hang you upside down over the pits of hell until you begged me to drop you into the fire. Now come out of there and explain to me who these people are you've brought into my lair."

They heard the small whimper again and it was all Piper could take as she moved forward and threw her hands out blowing up the demon in question.

"What kind of demon was that?" Paige asked in disgust as they all three made their way around the tables until they were next to the one that they knew the boy was hiding beneath.

"I really don't know," Phoebe answered as she and Piper each kneeled next to the table where the boy was apparently hiding.

"Hey, kiddo, why don't you come on out here," Phoebe said quietly trying to draw the child out from his hiding place. They could hear his low tremulous cries and it was heart wrenching to say the least.

"Piper, Chris said you convinced him to come with you in the original timeline," Paige pointed out.

Piper remembered that too, but what to say to him? "Hey, little guy, I know you are afraid but I promise that we are not going to hurt you."

The child did not answer, as he pulled even further back under the stone table pulling his knees close to his body and hiding his face in them.

"I promise to take you away from here to a place that is safe, where you don't have to worry about anything harming you," Piper tried to tempt him. "And I'll fix you something to eat. You are hungry aren't you?"

With that the boy lifted his head and it was plain to see a lifetime of pain in his eyes as he tried to decide if he was being tricked. Piper could barely hold back her own tears as she stared into those glassy green depths imagining the horrors they had seen. "I promise, I won't ever let anyone hurt you again," she whispered holding her hand out to him but not touching him as she waited for him to take the offered hand.

His own hand began to snake forward and they could see how his small fingers trembled as he did so and then it rested in her palm and she slowly pulled him to her picking him up and wrapping her arms around him as she stood. She could feel how the boy's arms hung loosely around her and his chin rested on her shoulder. She wished she could see his face but then another part of her knew that it would only hold the pain and sorrow that had been his life. "Take us home, Paige," she whispered not wanting to frighten the boy.

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_A/N: Well that's it for chapter one. What do you think?_


	2. What's In A Name?

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N**: Two points I need to make before we start this. First at this time Wyatt is 8 years old and his younger brother is 6. And secondly I know that everyone is guessing that the little boy is Chris, well yes you are all right. I never had any intention of keeping that a secret from my readers, now the other characters; well they don't need to know just yet. So back to the story.

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**Chapter 2 What's In a Name?**

"It has been hours, Chris. Where are they?" Leo asked pacing back and forth over the attic floor every so often stepping on the loose floorboard that always squeaked. Wyatt was watching his father in some fascination wondering just exactly what had gotten into him. Leo was normally a very calm Elder who didn't let anything bother him but the disappearance of his wife and her sisters was taxing his nerves at that time.

Chris was sitting on the old beat up couch holding the Book of Shadows on his lap as he searched for the next demon to vanquish in his long list of threats to Wyatt. "I told you, Leo. They are searching for something in the Underworld. Right now they are in some of the chambers that are sense proof. You'll just have to be patient till they return."

Leo stopped pacing and stared angrily at the Whitelighter. "They never spend this much time on a vanquish, and what do you mean they are searching for something?"

Chris wanted to just ignore Leo's question. He really had been hoping that Leo would be away 'up there' a little bit longer than he had been. He glanced at Wyatt, who was sitting on the floor playing with his toy trucks, and rolled his eyes causing the young boy to giggle. Chris had managed to get on Wyatt's good side since arriving in the past and they both shared the same thoughts about Leo being just a tad on the over anxious side at times. "Leo, I've really let too much information slip today already, so I'm afraid you are just going to have to wait for them to show back up and then you'll get your answers."

Chris didn't really want to admit how good it felt to vex Leo on this. He had been spending a lot of time since arriving in the past doing just that. It wasn't as if he created situations that would test the limits of Leo's patience but he wasn't about to let one slip him by if he had the chance to use it either. And he could see just how thin that patience was becoming and wondered if just maybe he ought to lay off of the attitude for just a little while, for his own safety.

But at that moment it didn't matter because they both looked up to see blue and white orbs appear in the center of the attic leaving the three sisters standing before them.

"Thank god, I was getting so worried about…" Leo started to comment but then stopped as he noticed the child in Piper's arms. "Who is that?"

"Shhhh! I think he fell asleep," Paige whispered softly after checking to see how the boy had done orbing.

Piper crossed over to the couch and kicked Chris in the leg motioning him to get up, which he did so grudgingly and she carefully laid the boy down and then covered the sleeping child with a comforter. "I think we need to take this downstairs," she whispered turning towards the door but paused for a second. "Wyatt, hon, do you think you could stay up here and keep an eye on him? If he wakes up and needs anything you can yell for me okay?"

Wyatt was slightly confused as to who the boy was that his mother was being so protective of but he always wanted to please her so he'd do what ever she wanted. "Sure, Mom."

With that Piper headed to the door but noticed that Chris wasn't following them. "That means you too, Mister."

Chris closed the Book and followed the rest of them from the room shaking his head at what he knew had to be coming.

Once they were in the kitchen Piper began to get out cooking utensils and ingredients for one of her favorite dishes. "What are you doing, Piper?" Leo asked in confusion thinking that they would have a long conversation about what was going on.

"He's starved half to death and I promised him food, so I'm fixing food," she answered as if it was the most important thing in the world to her.

"We also need to find some of Wyatt's cloths that are smaller and get him cleaned up and out of those rags he's wearing," Phoebe suggested trying to remember where they had put the cloths that Wyatt had outgrown.

"I'll orb to town later and pick up anything we can't find here," Paige volunteered making a list in her head of the things a small boy would need.

Leo leaned back against the sink and shook his head. "Can someone please tell me what is going on here and who that boy is?"

Chris had taken a seat at the kitchen table and had started flipping through the Book of Shadows again as he watched the drama unfold in front of him. He was trying to sink into the wall behind him so none of them would think to question him any further.

Unfortunately Piper wasn't gonna allow that. "You didn't tell him, Chris!"

Chris glanced up biting his lip nervously. "I told you, you're on your own on this one. I'm staying out of the rest of it, for my own good and everyone else's too."

"Chris, don't you think you owe us a little bit more information than what you gave us before we found him?" Paige asked giving him a dirty look. "I mean you drop this bomb on us that we have to go save a kid that Piper and Leo are gonna adopt and then expect us to figure the rest out ourselves. That's not exactly fair."

"We what?" Leo asked looking to Piper to confirm the statement.

"Apparently, you and I adopt that magical little boy upstairs. He's a Witchlighter by the way, like Paige and Wyatt," Piper informed him and then turned to Chris. "At least according to Chris, but I meant what I said you and I need to have a talk young man."

The look she was giving him could have melted both stone and ice and Chris swallowed hard hating the fact that he couldn't tell her as much as she deserved. "Listen, Piper, the only reason I told you about him was because my demon hunts nearly caused you not to find him. I didn't want to change events anymore than I had to, but since this one was a pretty big one for you, I had to do something. But that's all I'm gonna do. The timeline is fixed. You found him and now you can adopt him and all of that stays the same." Chris knew that the less he told them about the boy the better it would be for himself no matter how hard it was to keep quiet about it. "I will save you a little time though. I don't think it will hurt to tell you that when Phoebe checks with Darryl no missing persons reports will be found and when Paige checks with her old Social Worker friends they won't find anything on him either. And even when Leo talks to the Elders they won't be able to come up with anything on him. It's as if he never existed."

Piper wanted to scream in frustration. Chris wasn't being any help at all and she really wanted to know more about the boy she had found. He looked so alone and so frightened when he looked up at her. How could any one child survive a life that would cause that much pain to be present in their eyes? "Can you at least tell me his name? Does he even have one?" she finally settled on sighing in resignation.

This brought a confused look to Leo's face. Why wouldn't he have a name? He had to have parents somewhere who would have named him. Phoebe saw the look on her brother-in-law's face. "We aren't exactly sure but it seems that maybe he's been living in the underworld his entire life," she whispered sadly.

"That last demon in the room filled with corpses seemed to know him pretty well, as if he'd known him for some time and those Karas demons said something about passing him off to a different clan as if he was a pet or something," Paige added angrily wanting to kill the demons all over again for the treatment she'd seen that the boy had received from them.

Leo's face went pale imagining a small child growing up in such conditions and it nearly made him sick to think of what the child must have suffered. "But that's… My god how?" How had he survived?

Chris watched Leo's reaction and was slightly surprised by it. But then again in his original timeline Leo hadn't been around much seeing as he was still a Whitelighter and subject to more rules. It had been several weeks after the child was found before Leo even knew about him and by then the boy had been fed up and didn't look quite so bad as he did when they found him.

But Piper had asked him a question. One he wasn't about to answer no matter how much she threatened him. "Yes, he does have a name, but you'll have to ask him that, and don't expect an answer for a while." When he saw the confusion this brought he decided to just give them one more small piece of information. "He doesn't speak or at least won't for some time, and he can't read or write either."

Piper gasped in shock. Everything the boy had gone through must have been a factor in keeping him silent and to have no other way to communicate or even for them to know what his name was. It was all so very upsetting to think about. "What are we supposed to call him until he tells us his name?"

Chris thought about that for a moment trying to remember. "Well as long as you are talking to him directly he'll answer to almost anything, I think."

"Yeah, I'm gonna call my son, hey kid," Piper growled in frustration.

This brought a smile to Chris' face. He couldn't ever remember any of the sisters addressing him that way. Leo & Wyatt might have a couple of times but never the sisters. He distinctly remembered that Phoebe had called him little buddy, and Paige had called him kiddo, but to Piper he had always been Peanut. That nickname had been extremely embarrassing, even though he had never complained. It was also ironic that soon after giving him the nickname they had discovered that he was allergic to said food. But the name had stuck anyway. "Don't worry, you'll figure it out. Anyhow, I'm gonna go put the book up and orb back to P3. Today has been one hell of a long day."

As his orbs shone Piper called out, "Don't wake him."

* * *

Chris reformed in the attic next to the podium and had to smile at the sight that greeted him. Wyatt had pulled a chair up next to the couch and was sitting very still keeping an eye on the door as if he was guarding someone. "Hey, Wy," he whispered trying not to wake the younger version of himself.

Wyatt glanced at him and then turned back to the door. "Hey, Chris."

Chris walked over and kneeled beside where Wyatt sat and took a good look at the sleeping boy. "You're doing a pretty good job of watching him. Your mom will be proud."

This made Wyatt grin madly. He loved to please his mom. But then his eyes clouded over slightly. He had been thinking a lot about the new boy and the way his mother had made such a fuss over him. "Is he gonna stay here, Chris?"

Chris knew exactly how Wyatt was feeling seeing as how he had already suffered through the sibling rivalry stage once before and decided that it wouldn't hurt to help the two brother's relationship along a bit. "Yes, Wy, he is gonna stay here. And I'll admit that your mom is gonna pay a lot of attention to him."

Wyatt scowled at that. He hadn't ever had to share his mom with anyone before. "Will she love him like she loves me?"

"In a way, yes," Chris answered understanding how much Wyatt needed to be reassured but also how he needed the truth too. "But don't worry. She'll love you just as much as she always has. It's jut that he's had a really hard life and he doesn't have anyone in the entire world that loves him."

Wyatt was surprised to hear that. He thought all children had parents that loved them. "No one at all?"

"No one. And the ones he's been living with were very mean to him. It's gonna take him a long time to get over all of that. But when he does, I promise you, he'll be the best brother any guy could ever ask for. He'll do anything for you, Wy, no matter what," Chris knew that Wyatt would believe him. He had explained time travel to him not long after arriving in the past and had told him about how he knew things from the future that no one else could. And up until then the boy had never doubted anything he'd said.

Wyatt seemed to think about all of that for a couple of minutes and then he nodded happily. "I guess having a little brother won't be so bad."

Chris smiled and ruffled Wyatt's blond curls. "I thought you'd see it that way." Then he stood and orbed away leaving Wyatt staring down at the young boy.

He reached out and took his hand and made a promise to the sleeping boy. "Don't worry, kid. I won't let anyone be mean to you again."

* * *

Chris reformed in the backroom at P3 and slumped into the old beat up couch he had been sleeping on for a few months now. He reached up and rubbed the tears out of his eyes. He had just barely heard the promise that Wyatt had made and wished that life had always been as simple as it was when they were children.

This had to have been the hardest day he'd had to face since traveling back in time. Seeing the demons that had mistreated him for years had been so hard, and he knew he could have never admitted to the sisters that the reason he didn't stay and help them search was because of the fear he still felt when he thought about the Necromancer's lair. He had been forced on many occasions to help the sick demon to prepare the corpses for his dark magic and it had left him with nightmares for years to come. Something he wasn't sure he'd not suffer from again now that all of the old memories were back taunting him.

And the thought that he had almost forgotten about himself almost petrified him. He hated to imagine what would have become of him if the sisters hadn't came and found him when they did. Would he even be alive now? Somehow he doubted it or at least he wouldn't have wanted to be. With those thoughts running through his head he curled up on his side and waited for sleep to find him, praying that the demons from his childhood nightmares would choose to stay away this time but knowing there was little chance of that happening.

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_A/N: Well, I officially managed to make Chris' original life even worse than the tv show depicted it as. What do you think of that? Poor kid. So any comments, any questions?_


	3. Acceptance and Nightmares

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N:** All right even though Piper is against the idea I am going to be referring to little Chris as 'the kid' or 'the boy' in most of the chapters to come. It's easier than saying little Chris and big Chris. Words in _italics_ represent a flashback or a dream.

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**Chapter 3 Acceptance and Nightmares**

"I gave you one task; just one. It was a rather simple task, something that I could have trusted to any demon in the underworld but I chose you. Why have you failed me, Necromancer?" he asked slowly circling the trembling demon who had just moments before been able to regenerate himself.

"I apologize, Master. But it was the Charmed Ones. How was I to react to them? My dominion is over the dead, not the living. And they most certainly are the living. Without one of their loved ones to reincarnate I truly could hold no sway over them," the demon explained never removing his eyes from the floor.

"I needed that boy. He was part of a much larger plan. One that I have been orchestrating for six years now. But I truly do understand your predicament. And I shall give you the opportunity to redeem yourself, when the time is right." With those words from his master the Necromancer truly smiled. He knew what the penalty was for failing his master and did not wish to suffer it himself.

"But fail me again and your worst fears will become a reality." With that the Demon of Fear shimmered away leaving the Necromancer still trembling where he stood. He stared around his lair and half expected the corpses to come to life and turn on him. How ironic that the one thing he took the most pleasure in could also become his deepest fear.

* * *

Wyatt was slightly surprised when he turned to look at the new kid and saw that he was awake and staring at him. "Hey, how long you been awake?" he asked smiling at the smaller boy.

The kid sat up quickly and backed up into the corner of the couch looking around in fear. He could remember being in the underworld and then there were people there, no witches! He was sure they were witches. And they had killed the demons that he had been with. Then he had hidden. It was just a habit. When in fear, hide. It had been ingrained into him from the time he took his first steps. If you could hide well enough they couldn't find you and hurt you.

It was strange to find himself with witches. The only times he had ever seen any of them was right before they were killed by the demons that kept him. But these witches hadn't died. They had been the ones doing the killing and they had taken him away from the demons and apparently out of the underworld.

That was another first for him too. He had heard things about the human world, but most of that had been groaning laments from the corpses that the Necromancer had revived. Those soulless beings that still had the twisted memories of their wasted lives. He had not been at all sure what was real and what wasn't about the things they had said and to be honest, he was so frightened of them that it wouldn't have mattered what they had said to him anyway.

But now he was with witches and for some reason the thought almost comforted him even though his life was now a complete unknown. Somehow he felt like maybe he belonged with them. Hadn't the Necromancer on several occasions called him 'witch brat'? Didn't that mean that he was one of them?

But still even though he knew that he some how belonged in this world there was still the terrifying fear of the unknown. He stared at the boy who had spoken to him and found that even though he wanted to open his mouth and speak it just didn't seem to want to work for him. But then again, how long had it been since he had spoken to anyone? He really had very little concept of time but he knew that he had been at least a head shorter than he was then. That had to have been a long time, didn't it?

"It's okay. No one is gonna hurt you here. Mom and the Aunts just want to take care of you," Wyatt explained seeing how skittish the boy was. "Oh, and I'm Wyatt. What's your name?"

The boy sat very still taking in what was said. The only children he had ever spent any time with at all had been demon children and honestly they had treated him almost as bad as the adult demons had. But this boy wasn't a demon. No demon had ever smiled at him like that. And he had learned early on that if a demon was smiling at you, you best run and hide because you were in for something seriously painful. But this boy's smile seemed genuine and his eyes even lit up when he did so. The boy liked that. Even though Wyatt's eyes were dark in color similar to some of the demons he had known they seemed to hold a light that was full of something that he could not describe. Something he had never felt before himself. If he had known the words happiness and joy he would have been able to describe that light but those were two words he had never heard before.

But the boy had asked him a question and he wanted to answer it. He had a name. He hadn't heard it too many times but he knew he had one. But for the life of him, he just couldn't remember it right then. So he helplessly shook his head hoping the boy would understand.

Wyatt quirked his head in confusion. "Do you have a name?" he asked knowing that surely the boy had to have had one. The boy nodded his head but shrugged his shoulders not sure how to convey that he couldn't remember it. When he saw the other boy's confusion though he frowned and it was all he could do to stop the tears of frustration that threatened to spill from his eyes. He reached up and touched his head and then his lips hoping to make the boy understand.

"You're confused," Wyatt answered for him. "And you can't talk." He wasn't so sure about that but since the boy hadn't uttered a sound yet it was a good guess, he figured.

The boy just nodded and reached up to wipe at his eyes that were threatening even harder to pour forth tears. He hated to cry. Whenever he would cry in the underworld the demons would become angry with him and beat him. He had never seen a demon cry before and he supposed that they did not cry because it was a sign of weakness. He didn't want to seem weak in front of this boy who had been nice to him so far. He growled in frustration when the first of the tears escaped his eyes anyway. He tried to swipe them away angrily and the action seemed so harsh to Wyatt as if the boy would hurt himself to stop it. "Hey, hey, don't do that. It's okay. We all cry sometimes," Wyatt tried to assure him as he grabbed the boy's hand, which had stilled at his words.

The boy stared at Wyatt in confusion. It was okay to cry? How could that be? He dropped his hand into his lap and let the tears fall waiting for the angry words or the harsh slap he had come to expect.

Wyatt didn't let go of the boy's hand as it fell to his lap and he squeezed it reassuringly. "I promise if you don't want me to say anything about it, I won't tell anyone that you were crying. Mommy tells me that even though I'm a big boy now, that it's okay to cry but I just know how much my friends would tease me if they knew that I cried sometimes. So I understand and I'll keep it our secret if you want. But don't worry so much. Mom and Dad and the Aunts wouldn't care if you cried either. They cry sometimes too. I've seen them."

This made him cry even harder. He wouldn't be punished for crying and the witches cried sometimes too. The life of a witch was certainly a lot different than what he was used to with the demons. He sat like that for a few minutes until the tears had finally dried up and he nodded at the boy who was still holding his hand.

"Do you feel better now?" Wyatt asked smiling that bright smile again. The boy just nodded as he wiped away the last of the tears. "Good. Are you hungry? Mom is cooking something really good. I can smell it. My stomach's been growling for almost an hour now."

The boy smelled the air and he too could smell something that had to be the most delicious smell he'd ever come across. He had to admit that it was making his mouth water slightly and he licked his lips. He nodded just slightly and Wyatt stood pulling him up off the couch. But then he frowned at the boy. "You need to get cleaned up a little though. Mom doesn't allow me at the table unless I've washed up really good first. Come with me. I'll get you fixed up in a jiffy."

The boy followed him and part of him was frightened. There were underground pools below that he sometimes would douse himself in when he felt disgusted by his own appearance or smell but none of the demons had ever actually mentioned him being dirty or needing to clean up. Would this boy's mother make him leave if he wasn't clean enough?

They stopped downstairs in a room that contained one small bed and lots of bright colored things that he wasn't exactly sure what they were, but he of course could not question so he just followed obediently. Wyatt found a box in his closet and started to pull out some cloths that were too small for him. "Perfect. They might be a little baggy on you, but they'll work. A bath will have to wait till later but we'll get you mostly cleaned up and then changed. You'll be passable for now."

He again followed the boy into another room and Wyatt turned on the water in the sink for him. His eyes widened at the contraption. Running water from a metal pipe was not something he had ever imagined possible. Wyatt could see the surprise in his eyes. "Wow, you really have been living one hell of a life, haven't you. It's okay. Just splash the water on your face and arms and use some of this soap. It'll take the dirt off."

The boy did as Wyatt told him and watched as Wyatt cleaned his own hands and arms. Once they were done Wyatt looked him over and decided he'd probably pass inspection for his first meal with the Halliwells.

After that they made their way to the bottom floor and into the kitchen where the witches were gathered along with a man that he hadn't ever seen before. He moved in close behind Wyatt and grasped his arm in a slight amount of fear. Wyatt looked at him and saw that he was staring at Leo. He leaned in and whispered to him. "It's okay. That's my dad. He's an Elder."

The boy wasn't sure what an Elder was but he could hear no fear in the boy's voice. "Hey, everyone," Wyatt called out waiting for them to be noticed.

All eyes were drawn to them and the boy sank even farther behind Wyatt. Piper was the first to respond. "Wyatt, hey honey. I see our new friend is awake."

"Yeah, we could smell the food and got sort of hungry," Wyatt explained.

Phoebe had come forward and was trying to get a good look at the small boy as she kneeled in front of them. "Hey, little buddy. I see Wyatt found you some cloths to wear too. You look a lot better. How do you feel?"

The boy looked at her over Wyatt's shoulder and could see that there was no malice in her eyes at all. But that didn't change the fact that he was suddenly feeling the urge to flee and find a hiding place. Phoebe's empathy kicked in full force and she could feel his fear. "It's okay, hon, you don't have anything to be afraid of here," she tried to assure him but then a thought struck her and she continued to talk. "But I'll tell you what. If you do feel frightened at times I can show you some of the places I used to hide when I was little like you. I have to admit I was always afraid of the basement myself and whenever Grams went down there I'd get scared and go hide until she'd come and find me. And to tell the truth it wasn't very long ago that I stopped being afraid of it either."

This intrigued the boy. She had admitted to being frightened herself both when she was little and just recently. He didn't think that adults were ever frightened. But apparently they could be. He just nodded letting her know that he understood her offer and appreciated it. He felt the urge to run abate slightly and moved to Wyatt's side but hadn't let go of his arm yet.

Piper joined Phoebe on the floor and smiled at him and he noticed that her smile was the same as Wyatt's and yet again he thought how much he liked it. "Well, I guess we should tell you our names. I'm Piper. I'm Wyatt's mom. This is my sister Phoebe. And the other one is my sister Paige. And he is Wyatt's daddy, Leo. We already know that you can't talk but whenever you can, maybe you can tell us your name."

The little boy nodded slightly but Wyatt spoke up for him. "From the way he was acting upstairs he doesn't really remember his name but he knows he has one."

The looks on the sister's face fell and it was as if a sad sigh overtook them all at once. It was just so pitiful what kind of life the boy had been living.

Piper didn't give voice to her thoughts though. She really didn't want to upset the boy if she didn't have to. "Well that's okay. Once you remember, you can tell us. That is if you want to stay with us. I know there are other magical families that would take you if you didn't want to stay with us. We would like you to though, but …" She didn't know what else to say. They had all been wrapped up in the fact that Chris had told them that they'd adopt the child that none of them had thought whether or not he wanted to stay with them.

It wasn't hard to see the amount of thought that was going through his young mind as a frown covered his face and his eyes seemed far away. They were asking him if he wanted to stay with them and she had said that they wanted him to. Where else would he go? Were there other witches that he could go live with? He certainly could not go back to the demons. That was out of the question. But she was giving him a choice. Did he want to stay with them or not? He had never had a choice before as to where he would live. He glanced at Wyatt though and could see the look of hope in his eyes. Then he looked at Piper and she too had that same look along with both of the other sisters. He wasn't quite sure what the look in Leo's eyes meant. It wasn't an angry look but it wasn't quite the same either.

He let a small sigh escape as he made his decision. He tried to mock the smile that he had seen on Wyatt's face but it came out very weak but still there anyway and he nodded towards Piper.

The grin on Piper's face more than doubled in size as she let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding. Some small part of her, though she knew it was right to give him the choice, had been dreading the idea that just maybe he would deny them. Chris had said that they would adopt him but she wasn't sure if in Chris' timeline if they had even given him the option not to. They might have just assumed that that was what he'd wanted. But now she was sure that he wanted to stay with them and it was as if a weight was lifted from her shoulders.

She stood and reached out her hand to him. "I'm glad that's settled. Now, are you hungry? I fixed a lot of food."

He hesitated a moment and let go of Wyatt's arm reaching out and taking her hand as she led him to the table and helped him to take a seat. Everyone else took their respective seats except Leo. "Piper, I need to go talk to the other Elders. See what they can tell me."

Piper looked at him in confusion. "Didn't you hear what Chris said? They don't know anything about him."

Leo frowned slightly. He had had this conversation with them already. "He's lied before, Piper." He just couldn't trust what Chris said to be the truth. There had been too many lies and half-truths. Leo couldn't trust him even on this.

She sighed and had to admit that he was right. But this time she didn't want what he had said to be a lie. If the Elders did know something about the little boy they might take him away. "Just try to be discreet as possible. Okay?" she requested.

Leo nodded as bright blue and white orbs surrounded him and he disappeared through the ceiling.

The boy stared in awe at the spectacle. He had seen demons shimmer or flame out before but never had he seen such a beautiful display. He himself had been dozing when Paige orbed them to the Manor so he had missed that and he had yet to use his own power to orb. Wyatt could see the look of wonder on his face. "Elders, Whitelighter's and Witchlighters orb like that. Aunt Paige and I are Witchlighters, half Witch; half Whitelighter, so we can do it too."

Paige smiled at her nephew and added her own comment. "We were told that you are a Witchlighter too, kiddo. So I'm thinking that if you haven't figured out how to orb yet that you will someday soon."

A genuine smile touched the boys lips then as for the first time in his life he could remember feeling so good about something. He had no clue that he could do something like that and he couldn't wait to learn.

Piper's heart felt as if it would burst seeing the smile on the boy's face. She knew it wasn't something he probably often did but she planned on trying to make him do so a lot more often in the future.

* * *

"Ah, just where I wanted to be," Barbas' corporeal form said appearing in the middle of the busy dance floor at P3. He had thought about making himself visible as he appeared but truly did not want to draw attention, so invisible it would have to be. He quickly moved through the couples in the bar and shimmered through the wall leading into the back room of the club.

He immediately saw the person he was looking for. "Ah, still so young and innocent, almost like the smaller version of yourself," he whispered as he kneeled next the Chris' sleeping form.

If he had been awake he would have thought to question how the demon knew he was that small child but as he slumbered on Barbas smiled happily knowing all the secrets but delighted in the fact that they were his to keep until he was ready to use them to his advantage.

"But for now I am here for another reason," he whispered running his hand in front of Chris' slumbering features with the palm cupped inwards as he stared at it. "Ah, there are many, many fears in you; a veritable playground for me to enjoy. Normally I would prefer to go straight to the worst to make the killing blow, but not this time. You will suffer greatly but over time. Let's start with something small shall we?" With that Barbas' eyes closed as he fed off of the fear that he projected into Chris' dream.

_He stood trembling inside the cavern door hiding from those that were searching for him. This clan of Karas demons seemed to have an overabundance of child demons and to Chris' horror they had been told upon him joining their clan that he was their pet to do with whatever they wished as long as he remained alive. He had spent the last four days hiding from the demon children._

_His small frail four-year-old legs were beginning to give out on him, as he had had no chance to find food and only a small amount of water the day before. But the demons were close. Way too close to worry about the pain in his legs or the exhaustion he felt._

_He was hiding just inside the Necromancer's lair and part of him feared the few corpses that were there but at least they were all dead this time. The ones that had been reanimated were the ones that he feared, but no more than he feared the Necromancer himself._

_But today would not be a day for the Necromancer's torment. No, today was time for child's play. He heard the demon children's feet pounding down the corridor outside and his heart gripped in fear as the first one stuck its head into the door and caught sight of him. _

_He backed himself into the corner and waited for them to come for him and they did. He flung one hand out in an almost instinctual way and watched as one of the demons flew into the wall and exploded. His mouth dropped in surprise at what he'd done. Never had he showed the possibility of any powers before. But his surprise turned into utter fear as several of the other demon children screamed in anger at him and moved forward. _

Barbas smiled devilishly at the whimpering noises that Chris had started to make in his sleep. Ah, such sweet joy he felt as the fear he fed off of coursed through his body as if a drug to an addict. He could see that the young man had started to thrash around in his sleep thinking he was fighting off the demon's from his nightmares, and normally most beings would soon wake from their nightmare and see that everything was fine, but not when the nightmare was orchestrated by the Demon of Fear. This was a ride Chris would have to take to the end.

_Chris fought harder that day then he could ever remember fighting before but even with his new power he was no match for so many and soon he found himself in another chamber and he had been chained by one ankle to the wall as the demon's took turns whipping him with long braids of rope that had been crafted for just that purpose._

_He covered his face and cried through the pain that he felt running through his small form, knowing that if any of the demons saw his tears the beating would be ten times worse._

Barbas drew back sensing that the dream was nearly over and waited for Chris to wake from it. The young man did not disappoint him as his eyes flew open and he immediately covered his head with his arms not quite awake enough to realize the dream was over but then the sounds of the nightclub and his own labored breaths were the only ones that assaulted his ears and he pulled his arms away from his face seeing the room around him.

It came back to him in a rush where he was and what he was doing there. He sat up quickly scooting into the corner of the couch and pulled his knees up to his chest as he wrapped one arm around them and rested his cheek against his other hand with his elbow supporting his arm on the back of the couch. He rubbed the side of his face a few times rocking back and forth as he stared blankly at the wall behind him trying to calm his breathing. It was working ever so slowly but he could still see the scenes from his nightmare so fresh before his eyes and he was thankful that he was alone at that moment. He was sure that if anyone had seen the petrified look on his face at that very moment that there would be no way he would have gotten away with vague explanations this time.

Barbas again smiled at what he had accomplished as he watched the young man break down before him and then he shimmered away unnoticed ending up back in his lair in the underworld. A wicked laugh of triumph cascaded around the cavern as he saw events coming together just as his new plan dictated.

* * *

_A/N: All right yeah, uh huh, I know. I deserve to go to the deepest darkest pits of hell for doing that to poor little Chris and for making big Chris relive it in such a heinous way. I know. I'm horrible. I'm evil. Wait, why am I apologizing? I am evil. I've never denied it. So what are you going to do about it? Leave me all kinds of hateful reviews. I thrive on that. Yippee!!!!! Okay, maybe I do need to lay off the caffine for a bit._


	4. Time Loop

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

**Chapter 4 Time Loop**

Chris had spent the night sitting on the couch in the backroom of P3, not even bothering to try to sleep again. But not sleeping hadn't kept the memories away, for they were just that. Not necessarily just nightmares but true events that he had lived through so very long ago and they were coming back to haunt him in the worst way imaginable now.

But he knew he had to put it behind him if he was to continue in his quest to save Wyatt and by his calculations they were running out of time before they would have to do just that. So he checked his reflection in the mirror, noticing that the dark circles under his eyes were noticeable if anyone was looking for them. But the Halliwell family had much more to be concerned with than whether or not their Whitelighter was sleeping well enough. _Whitelighter,_ he thought snorting to himself, i_f they only knew the truth_. Chris was positive that even if he had died he would have been the Elders' last choice for a Whitelighter. But that was just one more of the secrets he had to keep to himself. There were so many anymore though. Sometimes he wondered if he would ever be able to keep it all straight.

But for now he was doing well with it, so he affixed a passive look on his face and orbed out to the Manor ready for the next demon hunt to begin.

When he orbed into the kitchen he was surprised to see his younger-self sitting at the table eating a huge breakfast and acting as if he'd lived there his entire life. _Funny, I don't remember feeling that comfortable here after the first night_, he thought ironically to himself. Piper turned and gave Chris that tight smile that he was becoming accustomed to in this timeline. It was the type of smile that you give someone who you have to spend time with even if you really didn't want to and unfortunately Chris realized that, all to painfully, he was not wanted there. But he knew now was not the time to dwell on such thoughts, no matter how much they might sting. "Hey, how's he doing?" he asked knowing it was a subject that Piper would want to talk about at least. She always wanted to talk about her children. How ironic it was that they meant everything to her when he meant so little.

The boy looked up at his words and was about to flee from the room until he saw the young man standing across the kitchen and for some odd reason the urge to flee left as fast as it had come and he stared wide eyed at him with his head cocked to the side as if trying to figure out a mystery. Chris noticed the look and immediately understood the reason behind it. He could feel it too and it didn't exactly surprise him. Bianca had told him that the spell would make sure that he didn't lose his powers when he traveled back in time but neither of them had realized that he would have to share those powers with his six year old self and in doing so it would create a link between them that only they could sense.

Piper hadn't noticed the strange look that was passing between them as a smile covered her face at the thought of her new son. She was slightly surprised that Chris had asked about the boy's well being though. The day before it had almost seemed as if Chris really could care less about the boy but maybe that was just because the danger was over by then and Chris being the Neurotic Whitelighter on a mission never seemed to have time for anything else but demons anyway. "I think he's doing well. Wyatt mentioned that he had some nightmares during the night but he calmed down when he spoke to him." Piper had been glad that they had decided to bunk the child in with her oldest son. Somehow she felt more confident that he would be well protected under Wyatt's watchful eye and if needs be his force field too. None of them knew if killing the Karas demons would bring repercussions or not.

Chris nodded at that remembering the nights after he had first came to live at the Manor. The nightmares had been severely frightening to a small child but it looked to Chris as if the child was dealing well with them. As a matter of fact he seemed even more relaxed than Chris did. _The resilience of youth_, he guessed shaking his head slightly. If only he could deal as well now as he did when he was six. But at six years old he had had a very overly protective older brother to help chase away the nightmares. Now he had no one.

At that exact moment, as if thinking about him could make him appear, Wyatt came barreling into the room his mind set on one thing only and nearly knocked Chris over where he stood. "Mom, do you know where my baseball glove is. I want to teach the kid how to play catch." Piper winced at the term 'the kid' and watched as Chris stepped out of Wyatt's way just in time rolling his eyes also.

"Hello, Wy," Chris said when he realized that the boy wasn't going to say anything to him.

"Oh. Hey, Chris. I didn't see you standing there. You want to play catch with us?" Wyatt's mouth ran at what seemed like a hundred miles a second.

"Thanks anyway, Wy. But I have lots of work to do today," Chris answered ruffling his hair, eliciting a groan from the eight year old.

"You always have work to do. Don't you ever get tired of demon hunting?" Wyatt complained taking a seat next to the boy that he had dubbed 'the kid'.

Chris thought about that question before he answered and he decided to go with a little truth. "You know I do get tired of demon hunting, Wy. More than anyone here might guess." Both Piper and Wyatt looked at him in surprise at that but neither said a word not wanting to stop Chris from divulging any information he was willing to give. It didn't happen often. "But if I can change things for the better in the future, well it's worth giving up some of the things I'd much rather be doing. Believe me playing catch with you guys sounds like a lot more fun than interrogating demons in the underworld or sitting in that dusty old attic looking through the Book of Shadows for the millionth time."

Wyatt accepted his words just shrugging. He was slightly surprised by them since he had secretly been wishing that he could someday soon go on a vanquish with his mom and aunts and their crazy Neurotic Whitelighter. But he was only eight years old and knew that it would be a few more years until they even considered such a thing. He had just assumed that Chris being a guy would enjoy the thrill of a good demon hunt. But then again, Chris was a Whitelighter and they were supposed to be passive and all, so maybe Chris didn't want to have to do that after all.

Piper though was not willing to pass the statement off with a shrug. They had all assumed that this young man, who was obsessed with demon hunting, had somehow managed to become a Whitelighter but wasn't it possible that necessity was what drove him instead of obsession? They hadn't been able to get a straight answer from him since arriving on what exactly he was trying to stop happening. He had said that a demon 'got to' Wyatt in his timeline and it had caused all kinds of havoc but that was such a vague term that it could have implied many things. Did a demon kill her son? Or maybe take him? There were hundreds of things that a demon could do to a young boy. Heck some demons could steal your powers. That was the one thing she had considered to be most likely. A demon with the powers of the Twice Blessed would certainly have caused havoc in Chris' timeline. Enough havoc for the Elders to send someone back to change things.

Never once had she thought about the fact that just maybe Chris would have much rather not been in the position he was in. "Chris, I know we don't often appreciate what you are doing here, but we would all understand if you needed to take a break." And for some reason looking at him it seemed as if he might just need one. For the first time she noticed how dark the circles were around his eyes and even how pale his skin was looking. Why hadn't she noticed that before? Normally being the motherly type she noticed any time someone around her looked even slightly ill, but with Chris she just didn't seem to notice. She hated to consider the fact that maybe in Chris' case she just hadn't cared enough to notice but it was always a possibility.

"Whoa now! It was just a simple statement, Piper. I have way too much to do to think about taking a break, and if I'm right I'm gonna need you and your sisters for a vanquish a little later on anyway." Chris hadn't meant to get Piper's motherly instincts worked up. That was the last thing he needed under the time constraints he had to work with. "Time is running thin as it is, so none of us can afford to slack off now anyway," he added realizing that sooner or later he was gonna have to light a fire under the sisters if he was ever to hope to save Wyatt.

"What does that mean?" she asked hearing the urgency in his voice.

Chris sighed realizing that just maybe he might want to let some of the information he was guarding so close come to light. He glanced at Wyatt though and she realized exactly what he was thinking. "Wyatt, honey, your glove is in the corner cupboard in the attic. Why don't you run along and get it. Then you two can go play catch."

Wyatt rolled his eyes and stood knowing he couldn't argue with his mother. "You do realize that I know you two want to talk about me, don't you?"

Chris had to chuckle at that one. Wyatt had always seemed so much older than he really was, but then again, so had Chris. The family had always assumed that living so close to magic and the harsh realities it contained had made the boys grow up faster than they normally would have. But sometimes it was still frightening to realize just how mature the young ones could be when they wanted to. "Yeah well, you don't need to know everything all the time, blessed one," he answered him using a nickname that his younger self would some day soon impart on his sometimes overly perfect older brother.

Wyatt rolled his eyes yet again and even went so far as to stick his tongue out at him before he ducked out of the kitchen door but just to get in the last word called over his shoulder. "I'm not the one with a million secrets, future boy."

Piper stared pointedly at Chris and couldn't stop the comment that came to her lips. "He has a point, you know?"

Chris smiled slightly to himself and nodded. "Yes, yes he does, and if you'll listen to me, I might consider divulging one of them to you."

Piper turned then to the newest edition to her family. He had stopped staring at Chris and instead was concentrating on the food in front of him and seemed oblivious to the conversation around him. She hated to stop him from enjoying his breakfast but this conversation with Chris promised to be a very important one. She glanced back at Chris and he could see the hesitancy on her face, so decided to help her with the situation.

He crossed the kitchen and kneeled next to the little guy and waited till he had his attention then he leaned in and whispered a few words into his ear. He looked at Chris and frowned slightly but of course did not speak. "I promise you. I know what I'm talking about."

The kid looked at him skeptically but felt as if he should believe him. Chris could see that a little convincing would be in order so he leaned in again and whispered a few more words that seemed to take more time. When he pulled back the boy looked at him with wide astonished eyes but nodded a couple of times as if understanding something that would normally seem strange to him but accepting none the less.

After that he picked up several strips of bacon and stood from the table leaving the room to follow Wyatt still happily munching on what had become his breakfast to go. Chris watched him smiling the entire time, still amazed at how well the boy seemed to be fitting in. He couldn't imagine why that one act would be so much easier for a child than the adult he had become. Fitting in was something Chris had yet been able to do in this timeline and honestly he wasn't quite sure if he'd ever manage it.

"What did you tell him?" Piper asked with some suspicion.

"Just that you will fix his favorite meal for dinner tonight if he went and played with Wyatt for a while," Chris answered only half lying. Much more had been said but he wasn't about to divulge any more.

Piper frowned at first and then the frown turned into a scowl. "And just how am I supposed to do that if I don't know what his favorite food is, unless you somehow happen to know?"

Boy that was a loaded question if he'd ever heard one. If he told her that he in fact did know the boys favorite food, she'd wonder how he knew it. No that was just too risky a chance to take. "Piper, the boy has been living off of demon scraps for the last six years. Any food you fix him will be his favorite food since he's probably never ate it before anyway and it has to be a damn sight better than anything he's had till now."

Piper's scowl turned into a look of disdain. "So you basically lied to him to get him out of the room. Chris, when are the lies gonna stop?"

His mouth gaped in surprise. He had done her a favor and gotten the kid out of the room and she was berating him for how he did it. _Why do I even try_, he thought angrily to himself? _Nothing I say is ever going to get through to them. None of them ever believe me. _Chris wanted to just orb away and put all of it out of his mind but he knew that he couldn't. His reasons for being in this timeline and in this kitchen at this very moment were much more important than his bruised emotions. But he knew he'd have to give her something more to get her off of his back. "Fine, his favorite food is your homemade vegetarian lasagna. Fix him that and you'll have him hooked forever."

Piper's eyes widened and just how he'd feared more questions rose in her mind. "But how could you know that? Do we know you in the future, Chris?"

There were a million lies he could tell her to explain it away but the comment she had made about him lying still stung when he thought about it. He couldn't tell her the truth. Not the exact truth. He could never do that, but he could tell her something that would be true and still keep his secret. "I know that because I've been here before in this timeline, several times actually."

Piper shook her head not at all understanding how that was possible. She turned and took a seat at the kitchen table and waited for a better explanation. And Chris was about to give it to her when bright blue and white orbs shone through the room. They both glanced towards the sink as Leo appeared there.

Leo immediately smiled at Piper but the smile faded as he saw Chris leaning against the refrigerator door. He could see the confused look on Piper's face and the scowl that formed on Chris' the moment he appeared. "What's going on?"

Chris just looked away with no intention of having this conversation while Leo was around. Piper on the other hand was glad that Leo was there. He out of all of them seemed to have a better grasp of time travel and how it worked. "Chris was just about to explain to me about how he's been in this timeline many times before and that's why he knows so much about us and our family."

Leo glanced sharply at Chris. This was something new that none of them had ever heard before. "Go ahead. Don't let me stop you," he said crossing his arms over his chest and waiting patiently.

Chris gave Piper a withering glare and then continued with what he was going to say. "I have to admit this is really confusing. But I'm sort of in a time loop here. I've come back to this time period six times already and every time my mission has failed and then when I go back I turn around and do it right over again. That's why I know so well exactly what is going to happen. I just keep reliving it all over again but it always manages to get messed up somehow in the end."

Leo knew what Chris said was very possible. There was nothing that would keep him from doing it over and over again but something about it just didn't seem right. Then it dawned on him. "But wait, if you know what happens then you should already know who the demon is that you say gets to Wyatt."

Chris sighed deeply and shook his head. "I'm afraid not. I don't know why and I don't know how but whenever I return to my own time the memories of what happens to Wyatt aren't there anymore. I remember a little more each time as if I've somehow made it further in my mission, but never that far."

"So what does happen to Wyatt?" Leo asked accepting for the moment that maybe Chris was telling the truth.

"I've already told you too much," Chris answered knowing the heated argument it would cause but unable to keep from it. "What I just told you only really concerns me and since I'm not from this timeline it shouldn't matter that much, but anymore and I could change things for the worse. I don't want to do that."

Piper had been staring at the floor listening to his words trying to comprehend how something like that could be possible but his refusal to answer Leo's question was what stood out in her mind the most. Her head began to move back and forth as anger built inside her. "So let me get this straight. You have failed six times already and you are still unwilling to tell us enough information that might be able to save our son." She looked up then and Chris could see the rage in her eyes. "How can you be so cruel?"

Chris swallowed hard hearing her question and he had to look away from the anger and pain in her eyes. "I'm not trying to be cruel to you, Piper. There's just a balance that I'm trying to keep that will keep everyone whole and alive and it's hard to know what's safe to divulge and what's not."

"But you failed. Every time you've failed, Chris. Don't you think that just maybe that should tell you that you're not cut out for this mission and you should leave it to others that might be able to handle it better?" Leo suggested.

Chris could hear the lack of confidence in Leo's voice and it burned him up inside to hear it. "Actually, Leo, I did try it that way once. The second time I came back. Let's just say the result was even more disastrous than my original timeline. I've discovered that the less I change the better things work out. But there's gotta be something I can change that will bring success. I just haven't figured out what it is yet."

"So what, my family gets to be your guinea pigs and hopefully someday you'll get it right. But until then you'll just keep plugging away and sacrificing my son for it. I'm not gonna let you do that, Chris." Leo's voice had steadily become louder with every word until he was finally shouting.

Chris couldn't respond. What could he possibly say to allay their anger and fears? Nothing. There was nothing left to say. Accept the one thing he had originally meant to tell Piper when the conversation had started. "Well I don't see where you have much choice in the matter because the demon that gets to Wyatt does so very soon. My last memory from the last time I came here happens in just a few weeks." With those words he orbed out leaving two very stunned people in his wake.

"A few weeks, Oh my god, Leo. What are we gonna do?" Piper hadn't felt so frightened in a long time. Chris' words had given her a sense of impeding doom to cling to and it was frightening to say the least.

"I'm going to find out what he is hiding and we are gonna save our son's life, that's what we are going to do," Leo answered walking over and wrapping his wife in a tight hug. "But first I think I need to spend some time with my son."

Piper clung to him for a moment more and then nodded as she pulled away. She understood how he felt. Whatever Chris was there to prevent had them both spooked and the idea that something horrible would happen to her baby made her want to have him by her side every second of the day, but something else also occurred to her. "Actually, you need to spend some time with both your sons."

Leo stared at her for a second as if he needed to remember something but then it clicked. "Sorry, still getting used to the idea, but you are right. He needs just as much attention as Wyatt does, doesn't he?"

But unbeknownst to either of them an invisible form had been standing near the doorway to the basement during the entire conversation and if not for fear of revealing himself he would have cackled in delight at the way that had went. There was enough fear floating through that room to feed him for days but being the greedy demon he was he much preferred the fear of his chosen victim so he shimmered out and reappeared, still in his invisible form, on top of the Golden Gate Bridge where Chris had fled to.

Chris had orbed to the one place that he felt free from the world and all of the pain that it could bring him. The bridge. The only place that Leo had every taken him during his childhood that he had considered to be a secret between he and the father he had always wanted but never quite been able to please enough to receive affection from. Ironic now that in a time when Leo hated him the most it was the one place where Chris most wanted to be. "I only ever wanted to please you," he whispered sadly knowing that he would never be able to do that. "And all I've done is make you hate me."

He silently berated himself for giving out too much information this time. He had only made things worse and if things kept going the way they were they'd hate him even more this time around then they ever had before.

* * *

_A/N: All right, I should mention that this fic will mostly be revolving around Chris, Wyatt, Little Chris, Piper, and Leo. It probably won't have much of Paige and Phoebe in it. They have pretty much moved on and have their own families to take care of. They will make some appearances but not as many as in my last fic. So that being said, what do you think?_


	5. Exhaustion and Changing Opinions

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N:** Sorry it took so long for this update. I had some family matters to take care of and think they are working out now, so hopefully I won't have to be away so much in the future. But to make up for it, I have written a very large chapter. Well large by my standards at least. And as a warning this chapter has a rather high gross factor at one point. So ye be warned!

* * *

**Chapter 5 Exhaustion and Changing Opinions**

Piper stood in the doorway of the sunroom staring at a sight that made her smile brighter than she had for the past few days. The day that Chris had warned them that they only had a few weeks to save their son had come and gone along with three more on top of it and it had left her with a lot to think about. They wanted so desperately to find a way to keep their son safe but both she and Leo had figured out that the only way they could do that was to convince Chris to confide in them. But Chris was nowhere to be found it seemed. He did not answer their calls and Leo just couldn't seem to sense him no matter how hard he tried. If it wasn't for the argument that they had had with him Piper would have seen this as something to be concerned over, but knowing how angry their Whitelighter had been when he left she was sure that he would show up eventually when the anger had worn off. She just hoped that it wouldn't be too late to do something about what might happen to her son.

She sighed realizing that all they could do was wait, but still in the mean time the entire family was taking the time to get to know their newest member and keeping a close eye on Wyatt in case Chris' prediction was off time wise. Even Leo had found some time away from his Elder duties to spend with the two boys. That was exactly what was causing Piper to smile so brightly as she watched her husband acting just like a large child as he sat on the sunroom floor with one boy on each side of him as they played with a giant racecar set. Leo had just been sufficiently beaten for the third time in a row but was taking the defeat graciously as the two boys shared happy conspiratorial looks across his lap. Piper was positive that Leo had let the boys win and she loved him even more for it.

Phoebe had just walked up beside her and stood watching them also. She could feel the joy wafting from her sister, not to mention the happiness shared by the male members of her family even though the scene seemed to have a shadow cast over it because of the worry that could be felt in the adults. "We'll figure it out, you know. We always do."

Piper sighed and then turned to her sister admitting her deepest fear. "I wish I could be as sure as you are. It all just seems to be going too fast. I kept working under the assumption that we had more time."

Phoebe had to agree and she knew that she had to admit one other thing. "I know. I wish we'd have taken Chris' warnings more seriously before now too."

Piper's face tightened at the name of their annoying Whitelighter. It was becoming really hard for her not to place the blame for their current situation on him. "How could we? It isn't as if he's been exactly trustworthy since arriving here. We've had to take every statement he's made with a grain of salt until now."

Phoebe looked away and seemed to be staring out into space as she thought about her sister's statement. No matter what proof they had to the contrary she was having a hard time seeing Chris in the same way that the others did. Sure he was dishonest and he did just about everything he could to drive them all nuts. But she just had a feeling about him that made her want to keep giving him more chances to prove that he wasn't really like that. He had done several things since arriving in the past that could be considered to be very good but did those things make up for the half-truths that they were sure he was trying to feed them on many occasions? "I don't know, Piper. I'm not sure that he doesn't have reasons for the things he's said and done."

"Well whatever his reasoning for keeping us in the dark over what happens to Wyatt is, I'm not buying it. We deserve to know." Piper couldn't understand why Phoebe was so ready to defend someone who was keeping them from the truth and might possibly fail at saving Wyatt because of it.

Phoebe knew she wasn't going to get through to her sister on the subject. When it came to her son like most parents the blinders came up and the defensive stance was set. She'd do anything to defend Wyatt and now the new child also and if that included taking on their Whitelighter, then so be it. And normally Phoebe would have been right there beside her sister and maybe even slightly more vocal about it too, but in this case she just had a gut feeling that they needed to trust Chris, something none of them were very readily willing to do.

Leo had caught pieces of the conversation and decided to join the sisters. He had excused himself and left the two boys happily playing the game. "Hey, Phoebe, everything all right?" he asked once he had made his way to the doorway where they stood.

"Yes fine, Coop is watching the baby," she answered referring to the first daughter that she had waited for so expectantly. It had only been a few months since she'd given birth and she was finding it harder and harder to drag herself away from her precious angel, but she also knew that she couldn't abandon her sister in her time of need so she had asked her Cupid husband to watch over their firstborn while she spent some time at the Manor trying to help them figure out what to do to keep Wyatt safe. They expected Paige to be arriving sometime soon too. She and Henry both lived very busy lives apart from each other, with her Whitelighter duties and his parolees, but they always managed to find time for themselves somehow, but like Phoebe, Paige was more than willing to chip in when the family needed her.

"We were just discussing what to do about Chris," Piper explained her voice taking on an annoyed tone.

Leo snorted at those words and glanced back at his children playing in the other room. "If only dealing with him was as easy as it is to deal with the little guy over there."

It was still hard to believe that he now had two sons to care for. But the more time he spent with them the more he felt like it was so right for both of them to be there. Though the young boy said nothing at all Leo often found himself watching him and seeing his emotions play through his eyes as he tried to figure something new out. The first time he had watched him play with Wyatt's toys had been a real eye opener. It was as if he didn't know what to do with them. Wyatt had finally had to show him how to play, but the smaller boy had soon realized what to do and was playing right along side him. And to look at Wyatt you would think that he had found the one thing in the world that he was missing. Having a younger sibling to watch over, teach and share his life with had seemed to bring a new sense of purpose to the youngster. One that Leo could see was very good for his son.

"Maybe Chris is just staying away so you two can have more time to spend with the kids. It's not unlike him to disappear for days on end," Phoebe suggested still wishing she could somehow diffuse the anger her family seemed to be dwelling on.

Piper and Leo each gave her looks of disdain as they considered and discarded the suggestion. "He's just staying away because he knows we'll somehow find out what he's hiding, and believe me if I can find him, I will find out." Leo had decided that he wasn't gonna let anyone or anything stand in the way of him protecting his son and if Chris had to get hurt in the process, well so be it.

Phoebe just shook her head at the comment and the feelings she felt floating off of her brother-in-law. "Leo, please try to talk to him first when you find him. I don't want to see such a large rift come between you two because of this. We really need to work together to save Wyatt."

Leo had to admit that Phoebe's suggestion made sense but still when had it ever been easy to work with Chris on anything? "I'll try, okay. Speaking of trying, I think I'll orb up to the bridge and see if I can sense him from up there."

With that he leaned in and gave Piper a kiss and then orbed away in a shower of blue and white lights, which caught the younger boys attention. Piper noticed this and saw how the boy's smile turned into a frown. She moved forward and kneeled next to him but he didn't act as if he noticed her as he stared at the spot where Leo had just been standing as his teeth worried his bottom lip.

"Hey, sweetie, what's wrong?" she asked him placing one hand below his chin and drawing his face up so his eyes met hers.

His mouth quirked slightly and he shrugged as he pointed to where Leo had just stood. "Daddy had to go talk to Chris. You remember Chris, right?"

The small boy nodded and heaved a small sigh and Piper realized what the problem was. "Don't worry, hon. He'll be back real soon. Wyatt and I will play with you until then okay?" Piper was very pleased to see how the boy was developing a strong liking to Leo. It was something that she wasn't sure would happen after his first day with them but they seemed to both be warming up to each other nicely.

He seemed to consider the suggestion for a moment and then nodded after forming an opinion in his own mind then he went back to playing with the toy racecars. In the few days that he had been in the Manor he had learned about all kinds of wondrous things and was enjoying almost every moment of it. No one yelled at him. No one tried to hurt him. He was always warm and dry and had never once gone hungry. Then there was the family, Wyatt and his parents and the aunts. They all acted as if they really wanted him there. A couple of times the aunts and Piper had even tried to hold him tightly in their arms. He wasn't exactly sure what to make of it at first. He had never seen anything like it between the demons and their children below. But after his initial shock at being touched at all, he realized that it made him feel good inside when they held him close and whispered kind words in his ear. He felt warm and protected. He himself hadn't tried to initiate any contact with them but whenever one of them would try to, what did they call it, "hug" him, yes that was what they said, well he certainly didn't try to pull away instead he reveled in the feeling and wondered at how much he could enjoy such a small act of affection.

* * *

Leo had stood on the Golden Gate Bridge for several hours using every sense he possessed to try to find the Whitelighter in question. He couldn't understand how Chris managed to block him. Whitelighters were not supposed to be able to block Elders. It was supposed to be impossible, but somehow Chris was able to do so. Then again a lot about Chris just didn't make sense to Leo. Sure he was from the future and of course the magical community could have advanced to the point where Whitelighters could mask themselves from the Elders but why would they want to? That fact along with Chris' attitude and some of the things he said and did bothered Leo more than he would even admit to Piper. He just didn't feel as if he could trust him, no matter what. 

He had begun to consider giving up on it for the day when he suddenly sensed the Whitelighter and to his surprise he seemed very near. So he followed the sense trail and found himself orbing into the backroom at P3.

The room was dark as pitch and Leo's orbs had only just slightly illuminated the room allowing him to barely see Chris' form laying face down on the beat up sofa that was pushed against the wall. "What the hell," Leo hissed just above a whisper. After days of not being able to find him, he had expected him to show up at the Manor or in the Underworld looking for demons. But to find him sound asleep in the middle of the day made Leo wonder just what Chris was really up to. For someone who claimed to be only concerned with saving Wyatt, sleeping the day away just didn't look too good on his part. Leo was about to flip the light switch on and chastise Chris when he suddenly heard a noise coming from his general area.

"Mmmm…. No!" he heard the strained voice low and choked with fear.

A silent invisible figure kneeled beside the couch next to Chris' head and he looked up at the disturbance that the Elder had caused. Barbas considered leaving but knew he could not be seen and besides Chris was already locked into another nightmare and he hated to waste all that delicious fear he was so engrossed in.

Leo stepped closer as his eyes began to adjust to the dim light coming from under the door that only just barely illuminated the sleeping form. Something about the sound of Chris' voice told him that he was very much asleep but not at all sleeping peacefully. He kneeled next to the couch not even realizing that he was but inches from the Demon of Fear. He could see Chris' lips moving, as he seemed to be talking almost silently in his sleep. He knew it was a horrible invasion of privacy but something drew his head closer to Chris so he could try to catch those whispered words.

"I won't… No I can't…. Please, no!" he whimpered just loud enough for Leo to hear.

_"Please, no… I don't want to," the small boy cried as he was forced back into the chamber by the Karas demon. But he had no choice in the matter. He had to do as he was told or risk an even worse beating than he had received the last time he had complained about this duty._

"_It's about time, boy," a strong male voice growled behind him. "I've got six of them to prepare today."_

_The boy turned to the Necromancer and tried not to let his eyes wonder to the bodies on the concrete slabs. It was easier to bear if he tried to pretend that they weren't there. He knew that pleading with the demon was not a possibility. So he moved forward letting his eyes drop to the floor of the chamber, waiting to be instructed._

"_Here boy, take these to that one in the corner and make sure you get them in right this time," the Necromancer said holding out two slightly imperfect round objects with small vine-like protuberances hanging from them, to the boy. _

_He reached out a trembling hand and the objects fell into it. He had to hold back the urge to throw up at the squishy feeling of them. But he managed as he carefully carried them to the corpse in the corner. He then had to manage to hold onto them as he crawled onto the concrete slab. But there was the problem. He just wasn't tall enough to do it without dropping them and down they went. A gasp escaped his lips as the items plopped to the floor making a squishy noise as they split open and gushed a foul smelling liquid to the floor._

_The Necromancer heard the gasp and spun seeing what the boy had done and was on top of him immediately. "What have you done?" he screamed grabbing the youngster by the hair as he tried to scamper across the body and behind the stone slab. The boy whimpered in fear as the demon pulled him upright and then shoved him down near the corpses face. "What do you see, witch brat?"_

_The boy trembled and real tears started to leak from his eyes uncontrollably as he stared at the eyeless sockets of the corpse that were only mere inches from his face as the smell of rotting flesh assaulted him. The Necromancer had not managed to find this body with his eyes still intact and knew that the dead had more of an effect on their loved ones if those among the living could see the hatred and accusations of blame in their eyes. "I said, what do you see boy?" he asked again shaking the small child hard._

"_No eyes," he answered in a small strained whisper._

"_Exactly," the demon growled in his ear. "Maybe I should just use your eyes instead," he suggested his voice filled with malice._

"_Please, no!" the boy cried. "I'm sorry… I won't do…it again…Please!" the words came out between sobs._

_The Necromancer knew he couldn't fulfill the threat. He was allowed to mistreat the boy but if Barbas discovered him to be disfigured in any way it would be more than hell in the underworld for him, but still he thrived on mentally torturing the small boy and found it most enjoyable to do so. With that he flung the boy across the room and watched as he hit the cavern wall and slid down it to the floor. "Get out of my sight, rodent. Next time you mess up like that and I'll take more than your eyes."_

_The boy cried helplessly as he pulled himself to his knees and crawled from the room. His back hurt too much to try to stand and all he wanted to do was find a dark corner to hide in._

Leo had watched Chris as his whimpers became sobs and not knowing what else to do the Elder had started shaking him, trying to rouse him. "Chris, common. You're having a nightmare." But he did not rouse at the action.

'What the hell is happening?' Leo wondered as he shook Chris even harder but while locked in the demon's spell he could not be roused.

Leo switched on the lamp next to the couch thinking that maybe the light would rouse the sleeping Whitelighter and was shocked to see the condition he was in. His clothes had splotches of demon goo staining at least fifty percent of them and his skin and hair seemed to be caked in dirt. The only part of him that wasn't completely filthy was his face, which had splotches of clean skin where sweat had trickled down leaving clean trails in the dirt and grime. By the looks of it Chris had probably collapsed the moment he orbed in and now was too completely exhausted to even pull himself from the nightmare he was suffering through. His exhaustion was probably also the reason his defenses dropped enough for Leo to be able to sense him. "What have you been doing, Chris?" he whispered in shock. "How did this happen?"

"Please, no!" Chris said still gripped in the nightmare, "I'm sorry... I won't do... it again... I promise!" This was accompanied by several strained whimpers.

The fearful noises and pleas to stop were beginning to frighten the Elder and he knew he had to wake him soon for his own sanity. So he reached out turning Chris over so he faced up and sat him up. He was surprised to see that the manhandling hadn't even so much as registered on his face. He had never seen anyone exhausted this thoroughly before. He reached out tapping Chris' face a few times getting a little harder with each tap. He really didn't want to slap him but feared he'd have to. "Chris, common wake up. You're beginning to scare me now." Still no response. But then an idea occurred to him. He leaned Chris against the back of the couch and orbed into the restroom finding what he needed and then orbed quickly back. Chris had slouched to the side slightly and Leo kneeled in front of him again and started wiping the dirt and grime from his face with a wet washcloth, hoping the refreshing feel of cool water against his skin would rouse him.

Babas had been watching the entire scene and decided it was about time to let Chris free. He knew this would be an interesting show to say the least. So with just a small flick of his hand Chris was free of the spell and the feel of someone touching his face startled him enough for his eyes to fly open and his hand immediately flew out knocking Leo away from him. If Leo hadn't been so shocked by the action he would have thought to question the strength that was behind the blow, an almost inhuman amount of strenth that was bolstered by Chris' telekinetic powers.

But as it was Leo didn't think to question it as he landed hard against the door and slid to the floor leaning against it. "Whoa, Chris. It's just me," he called seeing how Chris' still seemed completely dazed. He could also see the petrified look in his eyes and the way his hand trembled as it wavered in front of him. He wondered if maybe the young Whitelighter was still lost in the nightmare.

Chris' hand sank to his lap and he stared at Leo but Leo could see that he really wasn't there. The look in his eyes was likened to that of an animal that was just about to die and no longer saw the world around them.

Leo stood slowly and walked towards Chris with his hands out slightly at the sides in a non-threatening manner. "Chris, I can see you are in shock here a bit. I'm not gonna hurt you. I promise. I'm just going to come over there by you." With that Leo finished the slow walk across the room and again kneeled in front of Chris. He didn't want to try to sit beside him. He knew that the action might be seen as threatening towards the frightened youth.

He did notice though that sweat had once again broken out on Chris' brow and was threatening to run into his eyes along with the dirt that it was carrying. "Chris, I'm just going to wipe some of this dirt and sweat off your face," he said cautiously in the most soothing manner he could possible muster as he reached up with the washcloth that he had somehow managed to keep and tenderly started wiping his brow.

Chris didn't pull away but he did actually look at Leo and the look he gave him was enough to melt the hardest of hearts. His eyes pleaded with him to take the fear away. He could see it just as clearly as he could see his own hand in front of his face. He had no idea what enveloped the young man's dreams but whatever it was had to have been more horrendous than he could have imagined. "Do you want to talk?" he asked hesitantly. Chris had never once wanted to talk to him about anything but it was worth a try at least.

Chris' eyes blinked a couple of times as they for the first time really registered his environment. He could feel Leo gently wiping his forehead and face with a cold cloth and had to admit that the feeling felt very good after such a horrible vision. He truly wanted to sink into the feeling and for a change let someone care for him. But then his mind started to bring forth the more pertinent points of his life and he realized just how wrong it was for this man, who truly did hate him, to be showing any concern at all for him. He suddenly pulled his face away from the touch and scowled darkly. "What are you doing here?" he asked bitterly.

Leo let his hand drop and sighed at the biting tone. For a moment there he thought things might go more pleasantly this day. "I was looking for you but when I got here you were having some sort of nightmare. What happened to you, Chris? Where have you been?" he asked motioning to the condition he was in.

Chris looked down at his clothes and pulled one hand up seeing the grime and demon goop it was covered in. He seemed almost surprised to see it but then the last few day's events came back to his mind and he remembered the endless demon hunt he had taken on after leaving the Manor the other day. He wasn't exactly sure how many days he had been in the underworld or even how many demons he had vanquished either. He just remembered the urge to destroy the creatures that he blamed for his life being like it was.

He knew he could blame his family. They were not completely innocent in the pain he felt but then again if he blamed them he would have to blame himself also. Because wasn't he driving them to their actions? He had to admit he was. But no, it was just easier to blame the demons and take out his anger and frustration on them. It was one of them that was going to turn his brother evil. And that was something he knew he would never allow.

But hadn't Leo asked him something? Oh yes, where was he and what had happened to him? "I was below," he answered knowing it was not enough information but it was all he felt like saying.

"Chris, I know demon guts when I see them. Can you explain to me why a Whitelighter would be covered in demon guts?" There were rules and even though Leo had been known to break a few himself he wasn't about to just let Chris do so unchecked. He had a responsibility as an Elder to keep him in line.

"That happens when you throw vanquishing potions at them," Chris answered looking away his eyes still holding a slightly dreamlike quality. He felt so strange as if his mind was in a fog and he couldn't get out of it.

"Chris, you are not allowed to vanquish demons unless they threaten your charges and that is even frowned upon. You know that." Leo couldn't believe what he was hearing. Chris had just admitted to breaking the Whitelighter's most sacred rule.

Chris looked back to him as his mind snapped back to where he was. "Well considering the fact that Wyatt is Piper's son I'd say that counts him as my charge and if it takes me vanquishing every demon in the underworld to stop what happens to him then so be it."

Leo couldn't believe the amount of conviction he heard in Chris' voice. He had never heard him speak so emotionally about anything before. "Chris, please. I'm begging you. Tell me what happens to my son."

Chris could hear the amount of heartache that was in Leo's voice and for just a moment he wanted to tell him. He wanted to do as he said, just as he always had as a child. But he hardened himself again, knowing he couldn't think of this man as anything more than an Elder. "I can't," he finally spit out angrily. "I just can't."

Leo stood with that and started pacing around the room. He stopped and faced Chris when he had made three circuits. "You can't or you won't."

Chris let his head fall to the back of the couch as his eyes closed. "God, do you think I'd take all this on by myself if I didn't have to."

Leo heard the amount of fatigue that was evident in those words. Chris truly was completely worn. It was so easy to see now that he was looking for it. Now that his face was clean he could see the dark circles ringing his eyes and the way his brow was furrowed in stress. He could also see how his entire body sagged into the couch and very much doubted that Chris could even raise his arm if he wanted to. "No, I guess you wouldn't." But didn't that tell Chris that he needed help? It should. "Chris, look at you. You are so exhausted you can barely hold your eyes open. You look like hell and I don't even think you could orb right now if you wanted to. You need a rest. Let me take on this burden. You can't bear it alone any more."

Chris' head shot up. He always hated being told what he could and could not do. And Leo had said the wrong words. All he could think was that the man was faking his concern to get the information he wanted to save his precious son. "I'll do what I have to," he ground out angrily between gritted teeth. "Now get out."

Leo's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't expected so much hostility from someone he was attempting to help. "Chris, you need to listen to reason."

"No, you need to accept what I said and let me do what needs done," he shouted angrily. "Now get the hell out of here and let me rest."

Leo could see the stubborn resolve in the young Whitelighter's eyes and knew he would never get an answer from him like this and somehow after everything he'd seen in the past twenty minutes or so it had managed to change his mind about forcing the information from Chris. He could tell that there was something horrible happening inside Chris' mind and whatever it was had to be taking a large toll on him already without Leo adding to the problem. No, he'd have to find another way. Wyatt was his number one priority but to knowingly hurt someone who was desperately trying to save his son and at the expense of their own health and sanity to boot, well that was just not something he could do to him. "Okay, Chris, but please don't stay away so long. Even if you aren't willing to tell us the truth, you still need us to help you or you'd have never revealed yourself to us in the beginning. Trust us enough to help you, okay?"

Chris eyed Leo suspiciously but nodded waiting for him to orb out before he let himself lose control again. The nightmare had been the worst yet and then to wake with Leo trying to help him had shaken him to the very core. These nightmares were becoming a real nuisance. And not sleeping at all just wasn't an option. He'd attempted it and it hadn't worked. Once he had finally passed out the nightmare just seemed to take a stronger hold on him and his lack of sleep just made it harder to get out of it. He felt his body slump once again to the side until he had slid back to the soft comfort of the couch. He dreaded the nightmare returning but a very numb part of his mind just didn't care as it demanded the rest he had been denying himself.

But even that numb part of his mind was unable to stop the trembling of his body as fear once again swept him and he squeezed his eyes shut to hold in the tears that threatened to fall.

* * *

_A/N: Okay how many of my readers are looking at me and saying, "You gross, sick, evil, sadistic, woman. What is wrong with you?" Well my hand is up on that one. And for everyone's knowledge I know very little about human biology and seriously have never seen an eyeball out of someone's head other than in movies. So don't sue me if my description was off._


	6. Always Alone

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N:** I know, I know, very long time since I updated this story. I'd like to say that the holidays are to blame but well that wouldn't be completely true. Instead I'll say that it struck me just how I wanted to end this story so instead I've been writing several chapters ahead so I wouldn't forget what I've come up with. So now the beginning of this fic is done and most of the end. Now I just need to fill in the middle. Yes, I know, my writing style is just downright crazy but at least I have been writing.

I should also mention that in my version of this story Leo and Piper were able to pull their marriage back together after the time that Leo spent in Valhalla, so there was no divorce. He's just not around as much as he'd like because of his Elder duties and at times their marriage is still a little rocky but they are still together.

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**Chapter 6 Always Alone**

Leo had not felt like returning to the Manor immediately after his talk with Chris. There was just too much on his mind that he knew he'd need to figure out, so instead he found his way to the one place where he found it easiest to think.

To many, the Golden Gate Bridge was just another tourist attraction, or a busy, noisy thoroughfare that took them from one place to another. But not to Leo. No, the bridge was a place of peace and solitude. Or at least the top most reaches of the bridge were. A place where he could sit and think and listen to the city around him if he so wished. But not this day. He needed the bridge to seclude himself from the rest of the world as he tried to figure out the one person in his world that confused him most.

Until that very day he had for the most part considered Chris as the enemy. He had taken Leo's place as the sister's Whitelighter, and had even managed to win Wyatt over with intriguing stories about time travel. Stories that Leo were sure could not be all that true, considering Chris' future consequences motto. In many ways Leo felt like Chris was trying to take away the most precious things in the world to him. He had never admitted that to Piper or the sisters. How could he? Wouldn't that admission make him sound like an immature child? No, that was something he had kept hidden from them all as best he could.

And then there was always his little unscheduled trip to Valhalla. Even though the sisters had tried to convince him on numerous occasions that Chris was not responsible for that happening, Leo to this day had remained unconvinced. It was just too suspicious that Chris had been the last person to see him before he was taken. Chris himself denied the fact completely but still… and then there was also the Valkyries pendant. Had Chris killed to get it and if he had what did that say about him?

So didn't Leo have all the reasons in the world not to trust Chris? But then again there were reasons to trust him also. How many demon hunts had he led the sisters on since arriving in their time? And for that matter how many had he secretly went on by himself when the sisters had been too busy or just plain uncooperative? And there was always his quest to save Wyatt. On many occasions Leo had gone even so far as to accuse Chris of scheming against them to hurt Wyatt himself. But hadn't Chris had every opportunity in the world to harm Wyatt if he wished to do so? But instead he had been nothing but friendly to him. Not to mention the fact that without Chris' intervention they might have never found their second son. Was Leo just being too overprotective? Were his fears and suspicions unfounded?

It seemed to him as if his trust for Chris was balancing on a set of old-fashioned scales. There was so much on each side of the scales that Leo mostly remained up in the air when it came to Chris and trust issues. The things he had seen that day though were severely tipping the skills in the direction of trust though. Leo was beginning to realize that Chris truly was willing to do anything to protect Wyatt, and he had never asked for anything in return for doing so either. He never really even asked them to trust him. It was almost as if he knew that they wouldn't, no matter how hard he tried. But then again if he'd been in this timeline and done it several times before he would know whether or not they trusted him wouldn't he? Apparently he had been living through them mistrusting him for quite some time now. Enough time to make him give up on them ever doing so.

Leo sighed deeply looking at the dark sky around him as he realized that he had been away from the Manor for far too long. The sisters would be getting very anxious by then, so after making a very surprising decision about the situation he orbed home to have a talk with them.

"Well it's about time," Piper said from the seat she had taken at the kitchen table. Both Paige and Phoebe were also there and they both had curious looks upon their faces.

"Sorry, I had a lot to think about after I saw Chris," Leo apologized giving Piper a kiss on the cheek and a half-hearted smile. "I'd like to say goodnight to the boys first before we start this discussion."

Piper was about to burst at the seems when he said that but she couldn't deny him the right to see his sons and besides she had promised her new son that Leo would be back to see him soon so she nodded and watched as he orbed upstairs to their room.

"That's strange," Phoebe said with a quizzical look on her face.

"What is?" Paige asked.

Phoebe looked for a moment as if she was in a daze and then she shook her head to bring herself out of the thoughts in her mind. "It's just that before Leo left he was so angry. I was slightly afraid of what would happen when he did find Chris."

"That's understandable. I still remember the fight they had after Leo got back from Valhalla," Paige commented. She also remembered the look on Chris' face when she found him cleaning the mess up afterwards. He had acted as if he was the only one to blame and refused to let them help him. That was the first time that she had felt anything besides for annoyance at their young Whitelighter. Somehow she had felt pity towards him remembering the rough treatment that Leo had doled out. She had hoped that situations like that were in the past by now though.

Phoebe wasn't done speaking though and she knew here next words were going to be surprising. "He's not angry anymore. It's as if he's come to terms with his anger and let it go."

Piper looked at her sister sharply and then glanced towards the ceiling knowing her husband was right above them tucking his sons into bed, and wondered what exactly had happened to change his emotions so much in just a few hours. "Maybe, Chris came clean with him."

"Now that would make sense. Maybe we should head up to the attic. Be ready with the Book, once Leo tells us what he's learned from Chris," Paige suggested.

"But hasn't Chris been through the Book hundreds of times already?" Phoebe asked not sure at all that what she was feeling from Leo had anything to do with the search for the demon.

"Well maybe it will just take a fresh set of eyes. Maybe Chris has missed something," Piper said standing and heading out of the room with Paige following in her wake. Phoebe reluctantly followed but the more she sensed her brother-in-law's feelings the less she felt like they would soon be learning any of Chris' secrets.

"Dad, you did come," Wyatt called happily throwing the blankets on his bed back and jumping into his father's arms wrapping his arms around his father's shoulders and squeezing as tightly as he could.

The younger boy, who was lying on his own new bed that they had gotten him the day before just sat up, not quite yet brave enough to initiate any type of affection as Wyatt was.

Leo wrapped his arms around his son tightly and sat on his second son's bed. "Yes I did. I only wish I could have come sooner. I really enjoyed playing with the two of you this morning."

Wyatt squeezed his father even tighter and the smaller boy looked up at the display with a look of longing in his eyes. Wyatt's father wasn't there very often but when he was Wyatt always received the best hugs and the look of happiness on both of their faces was something that the youngster really wanted to be able to feel himself. But still… when he felt that way he always felt as if he was intruding on them and that asking for that kind of affection from any of them was being ungrateful for all of the wonderful things they had already done for him. So instead he looked away almost in embarrassment but Leo had caught that look in his eyes and wasn't about to just let him sink into the woodwork around them. He shifted Wyatt to one knee and reached out a hand grasping the younger boys own, which was resting limply in his lap. The boy looked up and Leo gave him a large smile and tugged gently on the hand.

A matching look of happiness sprung to the boys face as he slowly crawled onto Leo's lap and wrapped his own arms loosely around the man's chest almost hesitantly, trying to do like he had seen Wyatt do on several occasions. Leo wrapped his free arm around the young boy and looked down at him with that same look of adoration that he always gave Wyatt and the boy became lost in those brilliant blue eyes and the deep voice that was so soothing every time he heard it. "So, did you two have fun playing with Mommy today?"

They both knew that the younger boy wouldn't answer so Wyatt took it upon himself to answer for him. "Ah, Mom was pretty good but she is a girl. It's more fun playing racecars with you, Dad."

Leo had to chuckle at that, and the nod of agreement on the young one's face. "I think I'll keep that information to myself," he said in a conspiratorial manner. He of course would mention it to Piper, just because he knew how much she'd enjoy hearing herself being referred to as a girl but the children didn't have to know that. "If nothing else comes up I'll try to stay here with you two tomorrow, okay?" he suggested and was pleased to see the smiles on both boys faces brighten and to hear Wyatt whoop with glee.

"Okay, now. It's your bedtime," he said shifting the younger boy back to his bed and then helping Wyatt into his own. He tucked his oldest son in giving him a kiss on the forehead, which Wyatt promptly wiped off, as any self-respecting eight year old would do. Leo had to shake his head at the action. When had his son gotten too old to receive kisses from his father he wondered? But he didn't say anything as he ruffled his son's hair and then moved on to his other son.

The boy had sunk as far under the blankets as he could and Leo sat next to him on the edge of the bed. He could see the look of trepidation that had crossed the boy's brow and thought he might know what was causing it. "You know sometimes I have nightmares too." The boy looked at him with a look of wonder. He had never thought about the adults having nightmares.

"I know a lot of people that do, as a matter of fact." With that Leo couldn't help the vision of Chris' face, lined in fear while gripped in the nightmare, springing to his mind, but he pushed that thought away for a moment as he concentrated on his son. "You know sometimes you can control your thoughts during a nightmare and in my mind I always shut my eyes real tight and think about the people I care about. I don't think about anything except their smiling faces. And usually by the time I open my eyes again the nightmare is gone. Do you think you can do that?"

The boy seemed to be thinking about that for a moment and then he nodded his head slowly looking up to Leo and he took one tiny hand and pointed to his own head and then at Leo with a questioning look upon his face. Leo sat dumbfounded for a moment until he realized what the child was meaning. "You want to think about me when you have a nightmare?" he asked hopefully as his heart swelled at the thought that the boy would pick him to be his protector against the nightmares he suffered.

The boy hadn't been sure if he should ask that or not. He really felt so much safer when Leo was around but still… Leo was Wyatt's father, not his. Would that be an intrusion on their relationship he wondered? But he really did want this man to care for him and treat him like a son so he nodded holding his breath waiting the answer.

"I'd really like that, kiddo. And you remember, if you ever need me I'll be here for you too. If you can't call for me, Wyatt will, okay?" Leo assured him reaching down and brushing the boy's overly long hair from his eyes and back off his forehead.

When the boy's smile returned and he nodded happily Leo bent down and kissed his forehead just as he had Wyatt's but he noticed that the boy did not wipe the kiss away and as he stood to leave the thought that he was truly forging a link with his newest son brought such joy to his heart that he felt as if it would burst.

Once Leo had left the room Wyatt turned to the boy and called out. "It really does work, you know? I think about Dad and Mom every time I have a nightmare and even the times that the nightmares don't go away I always feel not so bad afterwards, because it's sort of like they were there with me all along."

The boy had rolled on his side too facing Wyatt, and as he listened to the older boy's words he realized that Wyatt didn't have any trouble sharing his Mommy and Daddy, something that he had worried about since the day he arrived. Then a thought came to his mind and he pointed again to his own head and then over to Wyatt.

Wyatt could see the action by the light that was cast by the one nightlight in the room and nodded immediately. "Sure, you can think of me too. I just wish you could talk. Then you could call out to me if you needed me. I'd be there in a second. I promise."

The boy hadn't even hoped to hear that anyone would protect him no matter what. But the thought bought even more happiness to him as he truly realized that he was exactly where he wanted to be most. Never in his life had he felt like he belonged anywhere until that very moment and it was a very good feeling.

Leo sensing that the sisters had moved to the attic made his way up the steps slowly. In some ways he dreaded the conversation he was about to have, but still knew it was necessary.

As he stepped through the attic door he was greeted by three expectant faces, which even farther increased the pressure on him to speak of all he had learned.

He walked slowly to the podium that held the Book of Shadows and rested a hand on each side of the stand looking down towards the pages, not daring to look at the three women who were impatiently waiting for him to speak.

It was Piper who finally broke the silence. "Well?" she questioned.

Leo looked up at the sharply spoken word and swallowed a little harder than usual as he tried to decide where to begin. He thought about telling them about the nightmare he had witnessed Chris having, but then he decided that that was way too personal an event for him to divulge without Chris' consent first. Then he thought about telling them about the demon hunts Chris went on by himself. But somehow Leo felt that even talking about those would upset their Whitelighter. So Leo said the only thing that came to mind. "I really haven't learned anything new about what gets to Wyatt, but I think we should trust Chris with this a little more."

In the silence that enveloped the room you could have heard a pin drop. Leo looked to each of the sisters' faces to gauge their reactions. Phoebe's reaction didn't surprise him whatsoever. She wore a look of both relief and happiness, and he could just barely see tears twinkling in the corners of her eyes.

Paige's look wasn't all that surprising either, as her face held a slight bit of relief but even more confusion, and maybe even a small amount of suspicion.

Piper's reaction was the one that surprised him though. He had expected disappointment and possibly frustration but the look she wore was closer to rage. "Have you lost your mind, or is spending all that time 'up there' just fooling with your sense of reality? We can't afford to just trust Chris with this. Not when our son's life is what's at stake here."

Her face was livid with barely suppressed rage, but Leo knew he couldn't just back down. "I know what's at stake here, Piper, and I love our son just as much as you do. I just think that all the negativity we've been handing Chris is more of a hindrance than a help. None of us have really been too cooperative when it comes to the requests he's made. All of which have been efforts to save Wyatt." Leo spoke quietly in as rational a voice as he could muster in the face of Piper's fury.

"You have to admit he's right," Phoebe butted in not giving Piper the chance to argue the point.

Piper was just about to do just that when her sister's words caught her off guard. She loved Leo with all her heart and respected his opinions most of the time. But knowing Phoebe her entire life gave her opinion even more merit than her husband's sometimes did. She stared at her sister for a long time wondering just what had brought about such a change of opinion in both of them. Then she looked at Paige and waited on her opinion, thinking just maybe one of them would still hold reservations on the subject.

Paige's mouth quirked in a wry smile and she half shrugged. "The guy is trying awful hard to fix things," she pointed out.

Piper threw her hands up in frustration and started to leave the room. She wanted to go check on her sons again and she really needed to get away from them where she could think about all they had said. But just as she was about to step through the door blue and white orbs formed a few feet behind her and she spun around to see the object of there discussion appear so close that she could almost touch him.

Chris was slightly surprised to see them all in the attic. It wasn't exactly the easiest task in the world to get all three Charmed Ones in the same room at once in this time period, as they all had lives of their own to lead. But to get all three of them and Leo together at once just didn't seem to ever happen. And if it did at least one of them were leaving. But none of them seemed to be going anywhere. Well Piper was close to the door, but it was night and nothing special was going on at P3, so she had no reason to leave her home at the moment.

So what were they all doing there, he wondered. He glanced at Leo and was thankful that he had remembered to clean up before he made his appearance. He was still slightly shaken and a little more than embarrassed that Leo had been there for one of his nightmares. But it just couldn't be helped. What was with Elders and being nosey anyway?

No one in the room had made a sound as of yet and Chris hadn't moved from the spot he had appeared in either, but he knew something would have to give eventually. "Okay, I'm assuming that since you are all here, and the conversation died the moment I appeared, that you must have been talking about me. Do I want to know what the latest accusations are?" He knew his words sounded snippy and that was partly brought on by his rather inadequate sleep patterns, but also partially by all of the events that had been crowding his head proving to him just how unwanted his presence was.

Leo scowled slightly. Chris' bad attitude wasn't helping the case that Leo was trying to present to the sisters in Chris' favor. "No accusations, Chris. Just trying to come to an agreement here."

Chris was slightly surprised by the calm tone of Leo's voice. After he had tossed him across the room at P3 and then ordered him to leave he had expected the Elder to be furious with him. "Agreement?" he finally asked with more than a little suspicion in his mind.

Piper answered that one though, still slightly miffed that her family had overrode her when it came to the subject. "Yes, these three have come to the agreement that we should stop trying to find out what you are hiding and support your efforts to help Wyatt."

Chris noticed the icy glare she gave the rest of her family and the strained sound to her voice, not to mention the fact that she hadn't included herself in the statement. "But you don't agree."

Leo interrupted knowing that Piper would probably say something that she might later come to regret. "Chris, Piper's still just very frightened for our son. Once she has time to think everything through…"

"Shut up, Leo," both Chris and Piper interrupted his speech though with identical words, surprising everyone present.

Chris and Piper stared at each other both slightly shocked at what had happened but Chris was the first to speak up. "She has the right to her opinions about me, even if I don't like them," he said in a tone that just barely hid how much the thought hurt him deep down inside.

Piper was slightly surprised by the fact that Chris hadn't exploded in anger by now. Usually when they confronted him about anything at all he became defensive, but that just didn't seem to be happening this time. "Give me something to change my opinion then, Chris," she offered with a look of utter disappointment in her eyes, knowing that it would take a miracle to do just that.

Never once in all the time he had spent with her as a child had Chris once disappointed his mother. He had strived above all else to make her happy that they had taken him in and had always exceeded in doing so, until now. He wanted nothing more than not to see the distrust in her eyes. Not to see the disappointment and the hate that he saw there now. That look was slowly but surely tearing his heart apart inside but there was nothing he could do or say to change it now. He had chosen his path to save Wyatt and there was no going back now. He couldn't bear to look her in the eyes anymore though so he diverted them looking instead to the floor. "I wish I could, but there's nothing I can say."

"Nothing you can say, or nothing you will say?" she asked in a quiet tone that still held accusation but knowing that he wouldn't answer her, she didn't bother sticking around to hear the answer. So resolutely she turned and headed out the attic door and down the stairs toward her sons' bedroom.

Chris was glad that she hadn't stuck around for an answer, seeing as at the moment he wasn't even sure he would be able to speak. He watched her walk away and felt the sting of tears behind his eyes as he desperately tried to hold them back. He didn't want them to see him being affected like that and was relieved when Paige and Phoebe excused themselves, needing to go home and be with their own families. So as they said their goodbyes to Leo he crossed the room to stand next to the window staring out at the dark world outside of the Manor, not really seeing anything except for the picture in his head of the look on her face.

Paige gave him a sympathetic glance as she orbed out and Phoebe crossed over behind him laying one hand on his shoulder in a comforting gesture. "It will all work out. It just takes Piper longer to trust than the rest of us," she whispered encouragingly. He didn't dare to turn his face to look at her, knowing what she'd see in his eyes so he just nodded and waited for her to turn and leave the room.

He had expected Leo to leave too but was surprised to sense his presence standing just a few feet behind him. "She's right, Chris."

For a moment Chris' heart skipped a beat thinking that Leo was agreeing with Piper, something he had expected all along anyway but when Leo continued he could tell that it wasn't his wife he was agreeing with. "Piper will come around once she realizes how much you are willing to do for Wyatt. She's just in that defensive mother bear frame of mind right now."

Chris didn't answer that statement for a few minutes as he worked it though his mind. True, Piper was being overly defensive and she had every right to be. Her child was at risk and she was being told that she couldn't have all the information she needed to protect him as much as she'd like. "It doesn't matter, Leo. I didn't come here to win any popularity contests anyway. I just want to save Wyatt and go back to my own time, where hopefully everyone's lives will be better for it."

"What happens to Wyatt really has that much affect on everyone in your time?" Leo couldn't help but ask the question. He knew his son had a very important destiny but still he was surprised that it affected so much in the future.

Chris sighed heavily knowing that he was yet again about to divulge more from the future than he usually liked to, but still if it helped his cause… "More than you can ever imagine, Leo. What happens to Wyatt in this time affects the entire magical and non-magical communities alike. We have to stop the chaos that has been unleashed in my time, no matter what it costs."

That last sentence he uttered did more to frighten Leo than anything Chris had said since arriving in their time. It sounded so final and so desperate and made Leo wonder just how far Chris really would go to change things. "Just remember, Chris. You're not alone in this. We are here to help you."

Chris wanted to believe his words. He wanted to cling to them and accept the olive branch that Leo was holding out to him but knew that he couldn't. Years of shared dislike between the two had made it almost impossible to consider anything more from the man. "I'm always alone," he whispered instead and orbed away not bothering to explain the statement.

Leo sighed in frustration as he tried in vain to sense where Chris had gone but unsurprisingly came up empty. He called out though hoping that the Whitelighter would hear his words anyway. "It doesn't have to be this way, Chris."

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_A/N: Well that's the end of that chapter. Next chapter I'm hoping will be up soon and will concentrate alot on Chris and Piper. I can't exactly leave her being a total bitch to him, now can I? _


	7. Tears In The Night

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N:** This is going to be somewhat of a short chapter but I needed to explain a few things about Chris' life and the whole time loop concept and I also needed to get across exactly what type of life Chris had been living up until this point. So that being said if this chapter confuses anyone please feel free to ask questions.

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**Chapter 7 Tears In The Night**

Chris knew that choosing to orb to the bridge was a risky maneuver. Leo might actually find him there if he thought to check but Chris needed to be in a place where he knew he could think away from the prying eyes of civilization. And the thoughts he had were filled with all of the pain and sadness of the twenty-one years he had existed.

Never in any of the timelines that Chris could remember had Leo ever accepted him as his son. Sure he had signed the adoption papers to appease Piper. But there had always been a difference in the way that the man had treated Chris and Wyatt since the very first time that he had became their son. Wyatt was his real son and the important one. Chris had always known and accepted that fact, but just because he accepted it didn't mean that it didn't hurt knowing so.

But Chris had to also admit that Leo had other reasons for disliking him, many other reasons. And he had just recently added yet another reason when he lied to them about how the time loop worked. He had led them to believe that he just continuously kept traveling back through time over and over again to try to fix things but in all reality it had actually been other versions of himself who had done so and each time all of the past memories had been passed to the Chris who was a child in that timeline through the link that they shared. So in truth at a very young age he had gained all of the collected memories that each of his former versions had experienced. He had to admit that a lot of those memories had just confused him until he was much older and could understand them better. And now in this timeline he was in reality passing all of his memories to the young child that would some day grow into a new version of him and the loop would continue on and on until the time when one of them was able to stop Wyatt from becoming evil. Chris prayed that he would be that one. But he could not have told them that without revealing to them who he truly was and that was something he didn't think he'd ever be ready to do.

In the first set of memories he held none of them had realized that Chris would someday grow up and travel back through time to try to save his brother from becoming evil. That was actually the easiest time for him. He had been, for the most part, accepted as a member of the family. But each sequential time had become harder and harder seeing as the presence of his grown up self had cast a pall on their opinion of the child version once they had realized whom he would grow up to become. It wasn't as if they'd disliked him knowing that he would grow up to be that man, but it was more that the feelings of mistrust had carried over to his younger version at least as far as Leo was concerned.

Never with Piper though, or at least not as far as Chris could tell. She had always been able to separate the child she adopted from the young man she disliked from the future. But he truly was beginning to wonder if just maybe this would be the time that she wouldn't be able to. That maybe her hate for him had grown too far this time. Every other time she had disliked or mistrusted him but this time she truly did hate him. He could see it in her eyes and he worried for the small child that was living in the Manor now. Would he be able to claim his mother's undying love as Chris had until the day of her death when he was fourteen years old? He just couldn't be sure this time.

He knew though that worrying about what would happen in the future would do him no good. None of that had happened yet. They still didn't know whom their youngest son would grow up to be and for that he was grateful. Maybe this time he wouldn't fail them and his younger version wouldn't have to live with that cloud over his head for years to come and wouldn't have to make the same trip back through time that he had. Every time that he had failed had been a blow to his self respect and he imagined to the way his family perceived him. Oh for the most part none of them had ever said that. None of them had ever even brought it up. He wasn't even sure how exactly he had failed, only that he had failed and failed miserably.

He was such a small child when it all had happened and even though he had shared all of the memories up until that horrible day through the link he always shared with his older self, try as hard as he might, he never remembered how it had happened. How Wyatt had been turned and by whom.

He remembered a terrible day when he had been taken by the Necromancer and that the sisters and Leo had come and rescued him but when they brought him back home both Wyatt and the older version of himself were gone. The month that followed that night was a difficult one for the entire family as they searched furiously for their lost son. They found Wyatt after that month and he had talked to the adults for a very long time, but Chris wasn't allowed to hear that conversation. Wyatt had told him later in private though that he didn't remember anything about what had happened during the month other than the fact that Chris had went back to his own time and left Wyatt to fend for himself. That fact always brought shame to the youngster. He couldn't imagine ever doing that to his brother. Giving up and just letting him be taken. Wyatt had also revealed to them all that before leaving Chris had admitted to him that he was the grown version of his little brother, which made life so much harder for everyone involved. To know that their second son would grow up to one day abandon his brother to evil was something hard for any of them to face, especially the small child who was destined to do it over again just as his six predecessors had.

He knew that his mother and the sisters had always loved him no matter what and they always told themselves that their Chris might not do the same as the others who had came back through time before. He just needed the chance to grow and gain his courage. But still there had been times late at night when he had heard Piper and Leo arguing and the few words that he had caught always involved him and none of them had been said in love, only in anger and disappointment.

And the fact that Chris had apparently abandoned Wyatt was always the main thing that stood in the way of Leo ever caring for his younger son and Chris could not blame him for it either. He had spent enough time dwelling over it himself and always came to the same conclusion. Only a true coward would have done what his grown self had done so many times before and if he had been Leo he would have hated himself too.

But then he started noticing the change in his brother. It started as little things. Chris often caught him lying to their parents and the sibling rivalry was turned up a notch or two as Wyatt often took his frustrations out on his little brother. For a long time Chris never mentioned any of this to his parents. He felt that he somehow owed his brother for the betrayal that his older self had committed. It wasn't until after his mother's death that Chris finally tried to speak to Leo about Wyatt's behavior. Never in any of the timelines that had come before had Chris ever admitted to his family that Wyatt had turned evil in the future. He could never admit that, not as a child or as an adult. Honestly he had been afraid of the reaction that they would have. But this very last time he had finally managed to work up enough courage to admit it to Leo. And the reaction had been one that Chris would never forget.

Instead of being understanding and trying to work with Chris to fix the problem Leo had raged against it and had accused Chris of lying to him and of much worse. He had left their home that day and went to stay with his grandfather and until the day he traveled back in time, never again spoken to Leo. His grandfather had been the only person he had left to turn to and the one person who didn't seem to think that any of that other stuff even mattered. But even that hadn't lasted nearly long enough as his grandfather too was taken from him shortly thereafter by lung cancer. After that Chris had bounced between his aunts houses, but never truly felt as if he belonged. Then the world had crumbled all around them as Wyatt's reign of evil began and life truly did become a living hell.

Chris didn't want to think about all of those things and all of the other things from his past six lives that had been eating away at him a little at a time for the past few months, but this trip to the past seemed different. The nightmares were worse this time around and there was a deep sense of dread that had settled into his very soul. Always before when his former selves had set out through time they had been ready and eager to change things. To fix things and to correct the mistakes that had been made. But this time around had been so much harder and every little slight or harsh word just seemed to rip at his soul more and more each day. He didn't seem to understand his own mind anymore. Maybe all of the sets of former memories were becoming too much for him or maybe it was just that things seemed to get a little bit worse for him each time this happened over and over again. He wasn't sure. But with each day that passed the old painful memories kept springing back into his mind and tonight after Piper's harsh words and Leo's offer of help it had become worse than most of the nights he had spent in this time.

Chris had been sitting silently for hours staring out across the city as these thoughts played through his mind and he wasn't quite sure when the tears had started to fall, but for once in his life he didn't even bother trying to stop them. But just before he orbed himself back to the small office at P3 he made a pledge to himself and to his brother, one that he fully intended to keep. "Whatever it takes, Wyatt, I won't fail you this time. This time I will save you, or die trying."

* * *

Leo hadn't been able to stop thinking about the last thing that Chris had said. He was always alone. Those words had struck a cord somewhere deep inside the Elder, but it wasn't just the words that he spoke but the tone of his voice when he had said it. Leo had dealt with many charges in his long years as a Whitelighter and often times those charges had expressed that same sentiment to him, but he was always able to point out how wrong they were and prove to them that they did have people in their lives that cared for them. But what did Leo really know about Chris' life? He was sure that Chris hadn't been a Whitelighter for very long. His inability to heal had proved that. So did he have family back where he came from that he had been separated from? Leo really didn't know anything about Chris or the life that he did come from. But the one thing that he did know was that when Chris uttered those words he had meant them. There was no doubt in Leo's mind how true the statement was from the amount of emotion in the young man's voice.

He had stood for a long time staring out the window that Chris had been standing by just before he orbed away, and was surprised when he heard a voice clearing behind him. He turned to see Piper standing in the attic doorway. "The boys okay?" he asked walking slowly towards her wondering just how angry she still was with him.

"Sleeping," she answered quietly. She had stood watching him for several moments as he stared out the window and had noticed the way his shoulders seemed to sag and when he had turned towards her there had been a brief flash of sadness run through his expressive blue eyes. She knew that both of them held a great deal of worry over their son's future, but somehow she had expected determination to be the main emotion her husband felt. Part of her had wanted to be angry at him for railroading her into accepting Chris' secretive attitude towards her son's future, but seeing that look on his face softened her heart enough to put aside her anger for the time. "And how are you?" she asked reaching out slowly to grasp his hand.

Leo took encouragement from the offered hand and grasped it tightly giving her a small smile. "I'm fine, Piper."

She quirked her brow at that. "The look on your face a moment ago didn't speak of being fine."

Leo sighed deeply and squeezed her hand as he looked away from her face. "I don't want to fight with you anymore, Piper."

At first Piper thought that maybe he was upset over the disagreement they had but something about the way he had said that made her realize that he had other concerns that she might not want to hear. "What are we going to fight over, Leo?" she asked dropping his hand. But before he could answer her she figured it out on her own. "This is still about Chris, isn't it?"

Leo looked at her sharply for a moment but then looked away again, not able to meet her angry glare. "Listen, Piper, a week ago I would have been the first one to agree with you about him. But that was before I really took a good look at him and what he's doing here."

Piper had to still her tongue not to comment about their Whitelighter and all the lies and half-truths he had been handing them.

"Piper, Chris is putting himself through a lot by being here and trying to help Wyatt. I know he says that he's doing this because of the chaos that his future has become, but the amount of commitment he's showing to this mission of his is staggering if you take a good look at what he's willing to do for it." Leo knew that Piper hadn't seen everything that he had. She hadn't seen the condition that Chris was in when Leo had found him earlier, but still she had to see all of the good he was doing.

Piper considered Leo's words and had to admit that before this whole incident with Chris explaining the time loop to them she had felt a moment of concern over the young man's well-being. She had worried that maybe he was pushing himself too hard. But that worry had been swept away by her worry for her oldest son. "Fine, Leo, I'll give him another chance."

Leo was pleasantly surprised that she gave in so easily and he reached out pulling her into a tight hug, feeling slightly better about the situation they were in. He knew deep in his heart that if they only worked together they'd somehow find a way to save their son and just maybe somehow the nightmare that Chris was living would stop plaguing his soul and he'd learn to trust those around him.

* * *

_A/N: As I said, short chapter, but I think it packed quite a punch by showing everyone more of what Chris has been living through. If there are any questions about the time loop, I'll be happy to explain it. I hadn't originally intended for it to work this way but I had a really good plot idea that required it to be like that. And yes, I did just suggest that Chris abandoned Wyatt to the evil in his past trys at fixing the future. Ducks flying objects I'm not gonna give any spoilers even if I'm tempted to so you will all just have to read ahead to find out the entire truth. I'd love to hear what everyone thinks so go ahead and push the little review button at the bottom._


	8. You Never Have Been

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N:** Wow! Two updates in one week. Maybe I'm getting my old demon possessed updating back like I had before. Anyhow, a little chapter to tide you over for a few days.

* * *

**Chapter 8 You Never Have Been**

As the days and nights passed life became progressively harder for Chris to bear. His days were spent in uncomfortable coexistence with those he cared for most, even if he could not show how he felt. His nights were a whole other story though as the nightmares continued becoming more intense with each night that passed. And this night was no exception.

_The small boy sat alone on the sunroom floor with his arms wrapped around his knees that he had pulled up to his chest, his small chin rested on those knees as he stared out the window into the greenery behind the Manor. His dark mood matched the gray clouds that drifted by overhead and the tears he wished he could cry matched the downpour that drenched everything in sight. But his tears would no longer fall. As a child living with the demons that had possessed him he had learned the hard way not to let his tears be seen, then he had been told that his tears were okay. But that too had not lasted as his one time protector had turned into his largest tormenter. Chris knew that he somehow deserved the scorn he had received from his adoptive brother and father. Wyatt had explained that the grown version of Chris who had traveled through time had betrayed him and for that Chris didn't really deserve the protection that Wyatt had once offered him. But still Chris missed his brother's attention and also wished that he would occasionally receive the same attention that Wyatt received from their father._

_But those wishes were nothing but dreams for the young boy. His brother now tormented him for his tears and his adoptive father just pretended that he didn't even exist. Life was not at all how he had pictured it would be when he had first come to live in the Halliwell Manor._

_On most days Chris left the house early and spent nearly all of his time wondering the streets of San Francisco until it was almost nightfall. At first Piper had become completely livid at the idea of her ten-year-old son running the streets by himself. But as time passed and she saw how more and more depressed her son was becoming she had agreed to allow him his freedom as long as he stayed in their neighborhood. He had complied with her wishes for all of two days and then had begun to strike out further and further on his own. Chris figured that if he could survive six years with demon children that the city certainly could not hold nearly as much danger as the underworld had._

_But the one time that she would not let him leave their home was on a day such as this one, when the weather showed them all just how angry it could become._

_The only thing that could have made this day any worse was if Leo and Wyatt would return from 'up there'. They had been gone for several hours, which for Chris was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because if Wyatt were home he would more than likely find some way to torment his younger brother, but a curse because at that moment Chris would have almost gladly accepted any type of torment from his brother just to break up the monotony of the day._

_Mom had left a couple hours beforehand to get P3 set up for the band she had booked for that night, and Chris found himself more lonely than he had ever been before. At least on the days that he traveled the city streets his mind had always been preoccupied with the sights that amazed him. The time he was now being forced to spend indoors alone was enough to drive him almost to tears as the only thoughts that preoccupied his free time were the same ones that preoccupied his nightmares. Thoughts of a beloved brother who was very slowly turning into a monster before his very eyes, or of thoughts concerning all of the heated arguments, that were almost always about him. Or worse yet the image of Leo's angry face as he yet again did something to disappoint the man who should have been a father to him. But worst of all there were the other memories. The ones that did not belong to him. When he was younger he had managed to push those memories to the back of his mind because for the most part they just confused the small child. But now as he was growing older the memories made much more sense and to be honest he no longer was sure when he was reliving a memory in his dreams or experiencing an imagined nightmare. Either way the things that he saw when he closed his eyes at night were frightening enough to cause the child to only sleep in short bursts or not at all._

_A small growl of frustration left his lips as he sprung to his feet and strode towards the foyer, not even bothering to don a coat as he rushed from the house trying to put as much distance between himself and the thoughts that plagued his mind most of the time that he spent at home._

_Several hours later, with the rain trickling down his neck from his soaked brown locks, Chris had managed for the most part to banish all thoughts of his family from his mind. At least he thought he had, but realized just how wrong he was as blue and white orbs appeared before him in the alley he was using as a shortcut and all of those thoughts came crashing back into his mind as he stared up at the angry visage of his father. _

"_Where have you been? Piper is worried sick about you," Leo hissed in anger._

_Chris shrank back from the anger he saw on Leo's face. "I just went for a walk," he answered barely above a whisper._

"_In the pouring rain, Chris?" Leo snorted in derision. "You know Piper's rules. You should be at the Manor."  
_

_Chris hated the way Leo had said that. She was always Piper when he spoke to Chris. Never Mom. And their house was always the Manor, never home. Nothing at all to label Chris as one of the family. Always an outsider who had invaded their lives. _

"_Yes, I know Mom's rules and I should be at home with my brother and my father spending time with my family, if I had a home to go to or a family that really gave a damn." Chris knew his words were bordering on contemptuous and he would regret them soon, but he couldn't hold them back any more. "But instead all I have is a Mom, who wasn't there. So forgive me if I didn't feel comfortable staying somewhere that I'm really not wanted."_

_Leo was livid with rage. The boy hadn't ever really come out and told him how he felt about the living arrangement they had. But still, they had taken him in and given him shelter and took care of him. And even after they found out what he was destined to do in the future they still had kept him around. It would have been just as easy to have found somewhere else for him to go, or for Leo to have turned him over to the Elders to do with him as they saw fit. "You ungrateful little bast…" he began in anger but then he just shook his head. "You know, fine, have it your way. You want to be on these streets running wild, go right ahead. I could care less if you come back to the Manor or not. But don't ever call for my help, because I won't be there for you." With that Leo orbed away and Chris stood in shocked silence._

_Never before had Leo just flatly told him outright that he didn't care but Chris had always suspected. "You never have been," he whispered and then backed up next to the alley wall so he could slump to the ground. He had vowed that he wouldn't cry ever again and even though he knew that the rain would hide his tears he still did not let them fall as he sat miserably staring at the spot that Leo had just orbed from. Part of him was glad that he had gotten all of the angry emotions out but another part of him, the part that he never let anyone see wanted to scream out at the world that it wasn't fair, that he wanted a father just as badly as anything he had ever wished for and not just any father. The father that had just left him there, the father that was always so kind and patient with Wyatt even when Wyatt didn't deserve it._

Chris was startled awake by a loud noise coming from the next room and then he heard voices that belonged to Randy the bartender and Phil the delivery guy, who apparently had dropped a case of whiskey to the floor.

Chris sat bolt upright and breathed in deeply trying to push away the pain that he was feeling after yet another nightmare that he had had no control over. The original nightmares that he had suffered were all filled with his younger years with the demons but the most recent ones had all revolved around his family and truthfully he wished that he could go back to the earlier nightmares. They were so much easier to bear. If only he could control his dreams. Then memories like that one would have been banished from his mind forever.

One glimpse at the clock told him that he was overdue at the Manor again. Since the nightmares had started he had found himself more and more often oversleeping while being locked in a nightmare he could not seem to get out of.

So he quickly got cleaned up and dressed trying to go about his normal routine but nothing was normal about the way his mind dwelled on this last painful memory that was plaguing him now.

He had gone back to the Manor after that incident. He had realized that he really had nowhere else to go. For some reason when he arrived back his mother was not there to worriedly greet him but Wyatt was. And for once Wyatt didn't even bother to torment him. He had actually seen something that was akin to pity in his older brother's eyes as they silently went upstairs to the bedroom they shared.

Chris had paused next to his mother's bedroom and could hear her muffled sobs through the door. He wanted to go through that door and try to comfort her pain but Wyatt had sadly shook his head and led Chris into their room. Then he had told him that when Leo had come home he had said some really awful things about Chris and that their mom had defended him as fiercely as a lion mountain does a cub. Then she did something that had surprised even Wyatt. She had kicked Leo out and told him not to come back until he could be a father to both his sons. That news had shocked Chris even more and it had also made him feel decidedly more horrible about everything. He had never meant to do anything to tear them apart. He had just wanted to get away for a few hours.

Chris hadn't know what to say to Wyatt, so he hadn't said anything as he laid on his own bed with his face turned to the wall and let his own guilt eat him up inside.

Leo had eventually come back home and had promised Piper that he would try harder to be a father to Chris, and for a while he had given it a halfhearted try. At least until 'The Event'… With that thought Chris closed his mind off and refused to think any further. He wouldn't dwell over that anymore. Not today. His time was running out and he had too much to get accomplished.

So he braced himself for another day of coexisting with them and orbed himself to the Manor attic. But after the painful nightmare he had experienced he was not prepared for the sight before him as he appeared.

Leo looked up from where he was sitting on the floor. He had Wyatt on his left side and his younger son sitting on his lap as he read them a story from one of Wyatt's favorite storybooks. Even though the boy could not read yet, he was fascinated by the pictures in the book and the different voices that Leo was making as he read to them. But he looked up sharply as he sensed the turmoil in his older self at seeing the touching family moment.

"Hey, Chris," Leo said smiling brightly at the Whitelighter as he appeared before them. He was so lost in the overwhelming joy of spending time with his sons that he didn't notice the dark scowl that covered Chris' features.

Chris couldn't hold back the contempt he felt at the perfect picture he was seeing before his eyes. "You hypocritical bastard. What are you doing?"

Leo blanched at those words and gawked at the angry sneer on Chris' face for a moment before he had enough sense to react. He turned to Wyatt and lifted his youngest son from his lap standing him next to his brother. "Wyatt, can you take your brother down to the kitchen for a snack. I think Chris wants to talk to me about something."

Wyatt's eyes had gone wide at the amount of venom in Chris voice but he did as his father said and pulled his little brother along behind him as he rushed to the kitchen to get his mom.

Once the boys were out of hearing Leo turned to Chris and gave him a confused look. "Chris, what was that about?"

Chris knew he was playing with fire. He knew he should just make an excuse and leave before he made things worse but his anger and pain were too fresh from the nightmare to allow him to think straight much less hold his tongue. "You have no right, damn you," he yelled out in anger.

"What don't I have a right to, Chris?" Leo asked not at all understanding what had made him so angry.

At that moment Piper strode through the door a look of worry covering her face. Wyatt had told her what was going on in the attic and she had nearly sprinted up the steps to find out what had caused her son so much distress. She stood stock still seeing the anger boiling inside Chris as he stood defiantly in front of Leo. She didn't talk as she waited to see how this played out and whether or not she'd have to interfere.

Chris noticed Piper enter the room and a small amount of his anger waned knowing that the accusations he wanted to throw at Leo would more than likely hurt her also. He turned away from them and growled an angry "Never mind," feeling as if he'd lost the chance to truly let loose some of the bitterness he held inside.

"Nuh uh, Chris. You don't say something like that and then just run away. What doesn't Leo have the right to?" Piper asked moving forward so she stood next to her perplexed husband.

"Chris, what did I do to make you so angry at me? I've backed down and given you my trust in this whole Wyatt thing. I even convinced the sisters to give you another chance. Why are you so angry at me?" Leo asked not at all understanding Chris' strange behavior.

Chris could hear the pleading quality in Leo's voice and it only fueled his anger. Why did this Leo have to be so different to the ones he had known before? Why did he have to be what Chris had always wanted for a father but never had? "It's not something you did, Leo. It's something you're gonna do. Or something you did in my version of the future I guess."

"What did Leo do, Chris? What doesn't he have a right to?" Piper asked in curiosity.

Chris couldn't look at them. He didn't want either of them to see the pain in his eyes as he said the words he couldn't hold back. "He doesn't deserve that boy as a son."

Leo gasped at those words. "What do you mean?"

"In my version of the future Piper may have two sons but as far as Leo was concerned he only had one. Just Wyatt. Never the other boy," Chris admitted making sure to phrase it as if talking about someone else.

Piper looked sharply at Leo and he just shook his head denying that he'd ever see it that way. The he turned back to Chris. "You're wrong, Chris. I have two sons. I don't feel that way. I don't know where you got your information, but it's not true."

Chris couldn't withhold the pain from his voice when he answered that though. "I saw it with my own two eyes, Leo. I saw you ignore him. I saw you treat him like he was an inconvenience. I heard you tell him never to call for your help because you'd never come for him. I saw you destroy him with your hatred." _I felt it, _he wanted to scream in desperation.

Leo and Piper's faces both drained of any color at those words. How could something like that happen? How could Leo ever do such a thing? Leo's head shook back and forth in denial. "No, Chris. I don't know what happened to change me so much in your future, but I will never treat my son that way."

Chris wanted to believe those words. He wanted to so bad. This Leo had never been much like the one he had grown up with. Oh he had gotten angry and taken it out on Chris but that was for a very good reason. Chris had stranded him in Valhalla. But other than that and the distrust he showed for a very long time afterward this Leo had actually seemed fair in his dealings with Chris and he seemed to be forming a bond with the small child, which had never happened before this time. But what would happen to that bond if Leo knew the truth? Chris hated to imagine what would become of this small child if he was sent down the same path that Chris had traveled as a child. "You say that now, but people change. Circumstances can change you beyond your wildest dreams or your worst nightmares." With those words Chris orbed away not even bothering to shield where he was headed. He truly didn't believe that Leo would follow him to the underworld anyway.

"He's got to be lying, Leo. There's no way you'd treat our son like that," Piper spoke up in defense of her husband, but Leo had heard the ring of truth in Chris' words. The tone was the same as it had been when Chris had said he was always alone.

"Somehow I don't think he is," Leo whispered sadly. "But I won't let that happen again."

Piper was surprised by his words. Since when did Leo believe everything that Chris said? "But…"

Leo just shook his head in dismay. "At least at this rate there might not be any demons left to get to Wyatt, if I keep pissing Chris off."

"What?" Piper asked in confusion.

Leo knew that he had been holding onto Chris' secret for way too long. It was time that Piper understood just how far Chris was willing to go to save Wyatt. "He's in the underworld, vanquishing demons."

"How do you know?" she asked in surprise.

"Because I can sense him there now, and because I saw the way he looked the other day after the argument we had with him. He'd been on a vanquishing spree and was so exhausted that I couldn't wake him from the nightmare he was having," Leo explained sadly as he remembered the lost look in Chris' eyes once he was awake.

Piper blinked a few times and then nodded understanding more. "That's why you changed your mind about him."

He nodded. "If you had seen him, you would have too."

This was a lot of information for Piper to process. She had had no idea about what Chris was willing to do to help Wyatt, but then something occurred to her. "He said that he saw you mistreating our son, that means he knows us in the future."

"Yeah, I'm guessing that he is one of the boys' Whitelighter in the future. Probably the younger one. Whitelighters have been known to become very attached to their charges at times, especially if they think their charge is being abused or neglected in anyway," Leo explained the only theory he could come up with to fit the way Chris acted.

"So what do we do now?" she asked in worry.

"We protect our sons, and pray that the future Chris knows never comes to pass," Leo answered sighing deeply. "For all our sakes."

* * *

**A/N:** Originally this chapter was supposed to have more Piper and Chris but it just kept getting longer and longer and never got to that point, so next chapter will be Piper and Chris. So any thoughts on this chapter? 


	9. Someone To Care For Him

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N:** Look at this, another update. If I keep this up someone's gonna accuse me of going back to my old ways. Seriously though, I probably won't update again this weekend unless my husband just doesn't have anything else planned for me to do.

Anyhow, oh how the theories are flying now. Just what I like to see. I also got a rather interesting anon review that when I first started reading I was preparing myself for a flame, but no, no flame. Actually a very good, well thought out review. Some of those theories I agree with, some I don't but we'll all have to wait and see what happens in the end. But anyhow, here is the mostly Chris and Piper chapter that I mentioned, even though I did add some Phoebe and Paige to it. Not originally planned but it was pointed out that I was neglecting them, so I had to correct that.

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**Chapter 9 Someone To Care For Him**

Piper had spent most of the day playing over the scene in the attic in her head. Though she was very mad at Chris for all of the deceptions he had been feeding them since his arrival, she still couldn't shake the sound of his voice as he spoke about the Leo in his future. She would have expected him to be angry when he threw around accusations such as those but instead he had sounded for lack of a better word … wounded. Had her family truly meant that much to him in his future? She couldn't deny the feeling his voice had given her. She had wanted to instinctively go into mothering mode. She wanted to protect her child, her little boy and if what Chris said was true her second son might need it in the future.

"No. Damnit, Leo won't hurt his own son. I know that," she chided herself remembering the picture they had made the other morning while playing racecars. "Leo loves him already."

But Chris was so positive that that would change someday. Well Chris just had to be wrong, she convinced herself as she headed out the door. She had a long day and night ahead of her at P3 and the last thing she wanted to worry about was their Neurotic Whitelighter and his theories about her husband.

* * *

"Wow, no wonder he hates you so much," Paige pointed out as she sat in the chair opposite Leo in the kitchen.

"Yeah, none of us really had thought about the fact that he might actually know us in the future," Phoebe added deep in thought. "But from what you say, he does and he's pretty protective over the boys."

Both sisters had showed up that morning wanting to check in on the rest of their family and Leo had described the scene from the attic earlier. It still was bothering him that Chris thought he could be that way to his son. He looked down smiling at said son who since that morning had spent most of his time curled up on Leo's lap. The small boy had drifted off to sleep not to long before and had his arms draped loosely around Leo' midsection with his head lying on his chest. Leo could only guess that the boy had somehow sensed the turmoil he felt and was attempting to assuage it by being as close to the man as possible. "No matter what Chris says I did in his future, I can't become that. I could never hurt this little guy," he whispered placing a tender kiss upon the boy's brow, which caused him to stir only slightly in his sleep.

The truth was that the small boy had been so confused by the feelings of hate that drifted from his older self that it had frightened him and he could see just how much the words he had said had hurt his father. He didn't understand why the older Chris wanted to hurt him but he certainly did not, so he had tried to sooth the man's pain in the same way that the others had been soothing his since he had arrived, by holding him and giving him lots of hugs. If he could remember how to talk he would have also told the man that his older self didn't really mean it and that he was a great father.

"Of course you won't hurt him, Leo. We all know that. Your boys mean everything to you," Phoebe pointed out. "But I'm worried about Chris," she added almost hesitantly. Leo had decided to be totally honest with them and had told them about how he had found Chris the other night and the shape he was in. "He's always drove us mercilessly on these demon hunts but what you described sounds like he's being downright reckless with himself."

"Yeah, but if that's what it takes to save Wyatt… Can we really complain?" Paige asked pointing out something that she knew was sort of horrible on her own part, but she had to be honest about her feelings on the subject. "I mean we all want Wyatt to be safe, and sure Chris is wearing himself out but he is a Whitelighter. Other than a Darklighter arrow he doesn't have to really worry about killing himself by doing this."

Phoebe shook her head at her sister's words. When had they become so mercenary when it came to protecting their nephew? "Paige, we don't have the right to ask Chris to put himself through all of this, even if it is to save Wyatt."

"But that's my point. We never asked him to. If he's willing to do this for Wyatt than I say let him go right ahead." She knew her words sounded cold but how could she worry over some secretive Whitelighter from the future instead of her own flesh and blood here in the present who could very well be killed.

Phoebe knew there was no arguing with her sister's logic but everything about it still felt completely wrong to her. Chris mattered too and she wished she could convince her sisters of that fact.

Leo had been listening to the conversation and had to admit that both sides made for a good argument. "Phoebe, Paige is right. We have to let Chris do whatever it takes to save Wyatt."

None of them heard the small painful sound that came from the hallway as Chris stood just outside the kitchen door. He had orbed in to try to salvage the rest of the day after vanquishing over a dozen demons in his earlier rage. But he had stopped short of entering the room and had watched and listened. He could see just how much Leo cared for the small boy on his lap and Chris had decided that just maybe this time Leo would be different. It had given him a little hope for the future, but then their words had taken him off guard. Apparently they all knew about his demon vanquishing sprees. Phoebe's words had made him want to smile. Always protective Aunt Pheebes. Even in the past, when she didn't know who he was she had to defend him. That had made his Aunt Paige's words a little easier to swallow, but honestly with the information she had about him Paige was being the most logical out of the bunch.

But then Leo had sided with her and part of him had really wanted him not to. After the concern Leo had been starting to show for him he had hoped that it would cause Leo to be more likely to agree with Phoebe. But he should have been used to it by now. Leo always chose Wyatt first. Instead of sticking around Chris decided it was best to just orb out and let them continue their conversation without him listening in anymore so with a heavy heart he orbed out not hearing the rest of what Leo had to say.

"But I want to keep a better eye on Chris. No matter what he is or who he is, he deserves our concern too. I really don't want him to exhaust himself to the point where he makes a fatal mistake that might have him end up with a Darklighter arrow in the chest," Leo added with a slight bit of fear in his voice.

"Yeah, I didn't really think about that happening," Paige conceded. "And knowing him, he'd be too stubborn to call for your help too."

* * *

Chris orbed into the backroom of P3 and slumped on the lumpy couch that had been his home away from home for several months now. His head sunk back as he closed his eyes on the world around him. Why should he think that things were gonna change? He wanted so desperately for this Leo to be different from the others he had memories of. This Leo had been the first and only one to ever show any concern for him in any timeline, and that had begun to make him lower his guard. Why was he doing that? He knew better. Then again, why was he doing a lot of things he wondered? His actions of late were very unlike him or at least the other versions of him that had traveled back in time. They had all been so confident and so sure that they'd be the one to fix everything and to save Wyatt. But this time around everywhere Chris looked all he saw was pain and fear. Afraid that he'd fail, afraid that they'd find out, afraid that he'd let himself care too much, afraid that things wouldn't change and also afraid that they would.

Chris hadn't noticed when the door had opened. He had been so exhausted that his troubled mind was almost overcome by sleep. But it wasn't long when he noticed a scent that he knew very well permeate the room and his eyes flew open to see Piper standing in the doorway staring at him in a very perplexed manner.

He sat up immediately and looked down self consciously noticing that he hadn't changed his cloths yet and they were covered in demon goo.

Piper wasn't sure what to say. Leo had told her about his demon hunts but part of her hadn't believed him but the proof was right before her. He was covered in what remained of the demons he had vanquished and whether he had noticed it or not he even had a small gash on his left temple that had dried blood crusted around it. He was also filthy with underworld dirt and his hair was wringing wet with sweat. Whatever she had to say about him she couldn't accuse him of being frightened of hard work. What she did say surprised them both though. "Chris, didn't your mother ever teach you to clean up after a vanquish before you sat on the furniture?"

Chris stood immediately glancing down at the couch that didn't seem to look too worse for wear. "Yeah, she did," he finally answered her in a sheepish tone.

"Well, I suggest you get to it then," she said turning and leaving him in privacy to clean up.

Chris shook his head at the strange way she was acting. But it was her furniture he was sitting on so it was a fair request he decided. With that he took her advice and cleaned himself up.

After a couple of hours of work Piper realized that she hadn't heard anything else out of Chris and wondered whether he was even still in the club, so she made her way back to his room and opened the door peeking in. The light was still on but the room's occupant was asleep sitting strait up on the couch with his head leaning back against the wall behind it. He did look slightly better than before though. He and his cloths were at least clean even if the gash in his temple still looked rather nasty. Apparently it had opened back up and started bleeding again after his shower and there was now a line of dried blood running down the side of his face.

She had closed the door behind her to block out the noises of the patrons that had started to fill her club, not wanting them to wake him. She stared down at his young features and was slightly shocked at how young he really did look when he wasn't griping at them to go on another demon hunt. She had to remind herself that he was a Whitelighter though and that meant that he could be any age for all she knew. But that also made her wonder exactly how one so young had died. She also wondered if they had known him while he was alive too. But she doubted she'd ever know the answers to those questions. Chris would never reveal anything of himself to them. But still the part of her that was a mother couldn't help but worry about him after seeing how far he was pushing himself.

She was about to creep out quietly to let him sleep but she stopped as she suddenly saw him wince in his sleep.

_"What, are you gonna cry like a little baby now, Chris?" the blonde young boy said shoving his little brother down._

"_Stop it, Wyatt," Chris called climbing back to his knees and then onto his bed. _

"_Or what? You'll tell Mom?" Wyatt asked flopping onto his own bed and staring up at the ceiling that she had decorated with the stars and planets of the solar system. _

_Chris stared over at his brother and shook his head, knowing that he wouldn't tell. He never did. No matter how mean Wyatt was to him or how many times he hurt him, he'd never tell. "Just don't, okay. And I'm not gonna cry, so shut up."_

"_Hmph, you were a cry baby when you came to live here and you always will be," Wyatt said picking up a basketball from his bedside table and tossing it into the air._

_Chris scowled deeply when he heard those words. He hadn't cried in nearly four years. Not since he was eight years old and Wyatt had started teasing him about it. "I'm not," he whispered bitterly._

"_Aren't you?" Wyatt asked glancing in Chris' direction just as he changed the direction that the ball was heading using telekinesis and slammed it into Chris' face._

_Chris hadn't expected that and pain exploded through his nose and his right eye as the added force of telekinesis caused the ball to slam harder than any regular throw would have done._

_The ball then bounced off his face and slammed through the window between their beds. Chris reached up grabbing his nose as blood poured from it and he wanted to scream in agony._

_The crashing noise of breaking glass brought both Piper and Leo into the room expecting demons attacking but both were shocked to see nothing amiss besides a broken window and a bloody nose._

"_What's going on?" Leo asked angrily._

_Piper immediately sat next to Chris and grabbed his hands, which were now covered in blood. "Chris, are you okay?"_

_Chris pulled his hands away from his face and more blood gushed from his nose._

"_It was an accident," Wyatt said immediately before Chris could tell what he'd done._

_Chris glared at his brother but didn't speak, knowing that they'd believe Wyatt first anyway._

"_And how exactly did this accident occur?" Leo asked staring from one boy to the other._

_Wyatt hung his head in shame, knowing that his father wouldn't punish him if he looked dejected enough. "I know. We shouldn't have been playing ball in the house, but it was too late to go outside. We were tossing it back and forth and Chris missed catching it. It sort of bounced off his face and out the window."_

_Leo looked to Chris and then back to Wyatt. "You are both gonna pay to replace that."_

_Piper looked up to her husband and scowled. "Can we worry about the window later and your son's nose now? Heal him Leo."_

_Leo shook his head. "You know if it's not magic related I can't heal it, Piper, and besides maybe this will teach him a lesson not to be playing ball in the house." With that Leo turned and left the room leaving a stunned and angry Piper behind._

Piper didn't know what to make out of the small pained sounds that Chris was making in his sleep. She knew he probably had to be dreaming but whatever it was he was seeing in his dreams were not at all pleasant as he again winced in what seemed like pain. Her immediate reaction was to try to do something to stop the pain.

So she crossed over to him and reached down shaking his shoulder. "Chris, wake up. You're dreaming," she called. But no matter how hard she shoved his shoulder he did not wake. That was disturbing to say the least. She had never seen anyone sleep that soundly before.

_Chris made a small pitiful sound in the back of his throat. If he told them the truth, that Wyatt had used magic to slam the ball into his face, Leo could probably heal it if he wanted to, but Chris just shook his head slightly and pulled his mother's hand away from his face. "It's okay, Mom. I think the bleeding is about to stop anyway."_

_Piper looked at his nose and could see that yes the blood flow wasn't as heavy but still. "I'm gonna go make you an ice pack and get something to clean that up." She turned to Wyatt then. "You, Mister, get to clean the glass up." Then she stood and left the room to do as she'd told her youngest son she would._

_Wyatt waited till his mother was out of hearing range and then swiped one hand towards the glass on their bedside table and watched as it flew out the window. "Easy enough," he smirked._

_Chris shook his head in disgust as he reached up again holding his aching nose. He knew that the next morning he'd have to go outside and pick up the shards of glass his brother had just disposed of, otherwise some little kid might happen across them and cut their selves. But Wyatt didn't care about that. He didn't seem to care about anyone but himself anymore. _

_Wyatt gave his brother a rather feral grin. "Good thing you kept quiet. I wouldn't want to have to teach you a lesson."_

_Chris had been on the receiving end of a few of Wyatt's lessons. None of them were very pleasurable but he couldn't seem weak in front of the bully now. "Whatever," he said bitterly and then laid down facing away from his brother._

"_You know, he could have healed you if he wanted to but he didn't want to," Wyatt called out digging the knife in a little deeper._

Chris whimpered again and his eyes flew open all of a sudden. Piper was still standing over him with a look of concern on her face. "Chris, are you okay?" she asked.

Chris sat straight up and grabbed his nose still not realizing he had been dreaming.

"It's okay, you were just dreaming," she said reaching out and steadying him with one hand on his shoulder. His eyes possessed a wild look to them that frightened her slightly. What in the world could have caused such a horrible reaction to a dream?

When his hand came away from his face there was no blood and he sighed as reality hit him and he realized that it was just another nightmare from the past. "Sorry, M.. Piper," he corrected himself quickly. "I thought my nose was bleeding."

Piper looked surprised that he would even remotely mention something that was in his dream. "Must have been one hell of a dream," she commented smiling weakly at him.

"They usually are," he said under his breath then added in a normal voice. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine."

"Even though your nose may not be bleeding that gash on your temple looks like it might need some treatment," she said staring at the gash that wasn't bleeding anymore but still looked like it could easily get infected.

Chris stared at her in complete confusion then reached up touching his head where she was staring. He didn't remember getting it but just as she said it was there and it was awfully tender to the touch. "Huh, didn't actually notice it."

Piper's brow wrinkled and a small scowl touched her lips. "Chris, if you are so disoriented during a vanquish that you don't realize you've been injured, I'm thinking you really should lay off the habit of doing so for a while."

Chris sat open mouthed and flabbergasted at how much she actually had just sounded like the mother he had grown up with. He knew he'd have to answer her soon or she'd become suspicious at his inability to speak. "I just… I was…" But no matter how hard he tried he just couldn't come up with an excuse.

"Never mind, Chris. I'll call Leo and he can heal you," she suggested.

Chris immediately shook his head as his eyes widened slightly. "No, don't. I'd rather you didn't."

"Chris, Leo is not mad at you for what you said this morning. He accepts the fact that he might not have been the best father in the future but he really wants to change that and he still wants to help you," she said trying to persuade him into letting them help him.

Chris shook his head. "It's okay. I'd just rather let it heal on its own, okay."

Piper sighed deeply and let go of his arm that she hadn't realized she was still holding onto. "All right, no Leo. But at least let me put something on it," she suggested turning and heading towards the bathroom, not giving him time to say no.

When she returned she had a wet cloth and a first aid kit and proceeded to sit down on the couch beside him.

Chris wasn't sure how to react to this new side of Piper he was seeing. She was just too much like the mother he knew from his own time and it was slightly frightening him. He stayed completely still and barely even breathed as she softly cleaned the dried blood from the side of his face. She even winced as he did when she pushed a little too hard against the gash, just as his mother would do when he was small and had some hurt she needed to clean. Once the wound was clean and she had medicated and bandaged it she pulled her hands back and Chris let himself draw in a deep breath of air. The air was filled with the scent of the lilac shampoo she always used and the remembered scent was enough to make him catch his breath but she didn't seem to notice this as she looked away from him and towards the floor.

"Chris, I'm sorry that I've been so hard on you recently," she said quietly not able to look at his face as she did. "I never realized everything you were putting yourself through."

Chris immediately felt the urge to stop her. He had never wanted to make her feel guilty. Not her. Not the one person who had always been there for him as a child. "It's okay, Piper. You were just protecting your child. That's what mothers are supposed to do."

Piper nodded accepting the fact that he didn't hold her responsible for her distrust of him then she looked up to him and wondered something aloud. "Do you have someone back in your time to protect you like my boys do?"

She couldn't imagine just how hard he would take that question as he fought the urge to break in front of her. She had asked him the only thing that always broke his shell, but he knew he couldn't let her see that, but still she would expect an answer. His voice was very quiet as he answered her and he had to look away. "Not for a very long time now." _Six years, three hundred forty eight days, nine hours and thirty some minutes, _he added sadly to himself remembering the day of her death like it had only been yesterday.

Piper heard the pain in his voice and could have kicked herself for asking him that. "I'm sorry, Chris. That was a really dumb question to ask a Whitelighter." Of course he had lost those that had loved and protected him. And that thought made her wonder about the woman who had been Chris' mother. She wondered how much pain and heartache the woman had to have suffered at losing a son so young. She could only imagine what it would be like to lose one of her own children at his age. It was something that was very frightening to think of.

Chris couldn't respond to her statement. He couldn't tell her that he wasn't a true Whitelighter and that he had lost his mother at the age of fourteen. He would have to just let her draw whatever conclusions she would about him.

"Chris, can we just start over with a clean slate here? If you promise not to lie to me, I'll promise not to be so hard on you," she suggested feeling slightly awkward.

He nodded and agreed to her suggestion without pause. "I still can't tell you about the future, Piper, but I'll do my best not to lie to you." He knew that he would probably have to break that promise sometime soon but he'd promise her anyway just to make her happy.

"Deal," she said patting his arm lightly and then stood to leave.

But he couldn't let her go without saying one more thing. "Piper."

She turned back to him waiting for whatever he wanted to say.

"Thanks," he said giving her a small smile as he motioned towards his head, meaning so much more than that.

"That's okay. We all need some one to take care of us every now and then, even Neurotic Whitelighters," she answered turning back and walking out of the room.

After the door swung closed Chris slumped down resting his elbows on his knees as he covered his face with his hands trying to hold back the scream that wanted to surface. Her scent was all around him and it only served to remind him more of the woman that had cared for him for so many years and of how horribly she had been taken from him. He had thought on several occasions how much easier it would have been if she didn't dislike him so much but now realized just how wrong he was. Her hate had been the only thing separating them and keeping his devastating emotions concerning her death at bay. Now he felt it renewed even further and stronger than ever before.

* * *

_A/N: Okay, yeah, I had to do that. Piper was being way too much of a bitch for my tastes. Yeah, I know. She was that way in the tv show too, but she couldn't be that way always. Chris did actually love her. Okay, next chapter I give them one more clue as to who Chris really is. You'd think they'd catch on eventually, wouldn't you? I guess we sometimes only see what we want to though. The chapter after that is where the shit really starts hitting the fan and then things start moving at one heck of a faster pace. So stay tuned and hold on for a bumpy ride. Oh, and as always reviews are much appreciated._


	10. Mommy's Little Peanut

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N:** Well the mystery of the anon reviewer from chapter 8 was solved. And I received another couple of anon reviews for chapter 9 and they were both filled with very kind words also. You know, I'm used to toasting marshmallows with anon reviews. But I'm really beginning to dig this. To my anon reviewers I'm loving you all. Thanks for the awesome words.

* * *

**Chapter 10 Mommy's Little Peanut**

_"You shouldn't have done that, Chris," Wyatt growled angrily pressing his brother harder into alley wall._

"_Stop this, Wyatt," Chris pleaded grasping his brother's arm trying to pull it away from his throat as fear gripped his insides. "Please stop!" _

"_What did you tell him?" Wyatt screamed in anger shoving even harder against Chris' throat. _

"_He didn't believe me. I swear," Chris gasped out feeling his windpipe closing on him as his hands shoved desperately against the strong forearm that pinned him in place. _

_Wyatt growled in frustration and then let his brother go as he stepped back and watched Chris fall to the ground clutching his throat in pain. "You're pathetic, Chris."_

_Chris glanced up at his older brother and wondered just how he could have let him become such a monster. It had been eating at him for years now. The older version of himself had betrayed Wyatt, left him to the demon and that was why his brother had become like this. He knew it as surely as anything else in the world. He knew that the boy he had met so many years before in the attic could never have turned into the pure evil that was before him. Not on his own at least. And Chris had let it happen. It was his fault. "I'm sorry, Wyatt," he whispered looking down again knowing he could never deny just how pathetic he really was._

_Wyatt looked down at him in surprise. He had expected Chris to scream at him. To furiously deny his brother's words. But instead he just looked ashamed and for some unexplainable reason he found this to make him even angrier than when he found out that Chris had spoken to their father about him. "Can't you ever stand up for yourself?" he screamed swiping out with his hand and slamming him into the alley wall again then shimmered away leaving a broken and bloodied brother behind._

Chris rolled off the couch clutching his throat still locked in the nightmare's after affects unable to even scream out as he felt the air being cut off from his lungs.

* * *

"Hey it's okay. Dad will be back in a little while, I promise. He's just got a meeting with the other Elders. You're always happy when he plays with us," Wyatt said trying to cheer up his little brother. In the past few days the boy had become more and more attached to Leo and though Wyatt missed having his father's full attention he could tell that his little brother needed it more. Something was really beginning to spook him and Wyatt was unable to figure out just what. 

The little boy just couldn't cope with all of the disturbing emotions he felt coming from his older self. It had been fun at first to be able to share everything with him. There were even times that he could see the things that Chris saw, but for the most part it was just their feelings that they shared. And the nightmares, those had always been there and at first he had recognized them as things that had happened to him when he was with the demons, but now they were different. In his dreams his brother and father were always mean to him. They said hateful things and Wyatt even hurt him. But he knew none of that had happened. Leo and Wyatt had been nothing but kind to him. With each and every new nightmare though he found himself gripped in fear at the end and nothing he imagined could make that fear go away.

Wyatt sat next to the child who was curled up into a ball on his own bed covered by several blankets as his small body shook in terror. Wyatt had been playing quietly as his brother napped but the boys screams of terror had brought him to his side immediately. Wyatt was too old for naps but he knew that his brother wasn't and he had taken to staying close to him as he slept, worried that another nightmare would find him. This one had been the worst yet and it worried him that the child wasn't letting him comfort him as he usually did. "Come on, kid, you're scarring me. You know I won't hurt you," he pleaded as he laid a hand on the child's shoulder and watched in surprise as he pulled away.

A small whimper escaped the boy's lips as he stared up at his brother with those large green eyes full of fear and pain and Wyatt couldn't stand it anymore. He quickly moved so he was on the floor and could look at the boy on his level as he leaned on the edge of the bed. "Listen, you are my little brother and I'm never gonna hurt you. I don't know what your nightmares are about but I'm not gonna give up on you ever. Please trust me."

The boy stared at Wyatt and he couldn't see any of the anger that he had seen in his nightmare and he didn't feel any of the hate he had sensed from the older version of Wyatt in his dream either. He reached one hand out from under the blankets and laid it hesitantly on his brother's arm as his mouth opened and two words came out stuttered by the fact that he hadn't used his voice for years. "I'm scared."

Wyatt blinked several times realizing that his brother had finally talked and his first reaction was to call his mom but then the boys words struck him and he couldn't call for her until he figured out how to help his little brother. "Come here," he said reaching out tugging on the boy's arm until he moved off the bed and sat next to him on the floor. He hadn't let go of the blanket he was wrapped up in but Wyatt didn't care as he wrapped one arm around his shoulders and hugged him to his side. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you, so there is nothing to be scared of."

The small boy whimpered again and Wyatt looked down at him. "You can talk. You just did. Tell me what scared you."

He didn't want to tell him. How could he tell his brother that he was afraid of him? He couldn't and he just shook his head. He was ashamed that he didn't have as much faith in him as he knew Wyatt expected of him.

Wyatt sighed heavily. "Kid, I can't protect you from something unless I know what it is. Wait, if you can talk, do you remember your name now? I hate calling you Kid."

The boy bit his bottom lip. He did know his name. Chris had sort of explained it to him but he had also made him promise not to tell. But this was Wyatt. The real Wyatt, not the one from his nightmares. He could trust him couldn't he? So he leaned up and whispered into his brother's ear and then pulled back to see his reaction.

Wyatt heard the one word he had said and his little mind started turning making connections that the adults hadn't even bothered to examine. He looked at his brother with a question in his eyes.

"Please, you can't tell," the boy whispered. "I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone until he went back to where he came from."

Wyatt's eyes widened and he was positive that what he had been guessing at just a moment before had to be the truth. "Okay, I won't tell," he promised even though it worried him a little to do so. He felt that Mommy and Daddy should know something as important as this. But he knew that if he was ever gonna get his little brother to trust him he'd have to keep his secret just the same. "I won't say anything. You can tell them when you're ready to."

The small boy smiled and hugged his brother tight as the last affects of the nightmare slipped from his small mind and it felt so good to know that the nightmares couldn't be real. No, not his brother. Wyatt would never hurt him. He knew that for a fact. "Thanks, Wy."

"Hey, when I used to have nightmares Mom would let me have ice cream afterwards. You want to see if we can have some?" Wyatt suggested remembering the days when his nightmares had his mother wrapped around his little finger. "She even let me have it for breakfast a few times when the nightmares were really bad ones."

The child tilted his head to the side and smiled. "Sure," he answered but after a pause added, "What's ice cream?" He knew it had to be something really good if Wyatt was so excited about it.

Wyatt just shook his head and stood pulling his little brother up with him. "You'll see."

They both headed downstairs and were soon sitting at the kitchen table with large bowls of ice cream before them. When Wyatt had told Piper that his little brother had a nightmare and he thought some ice cream would probably cheer him up, she had immediately recognized the ploy but her youngest son's eyes were rimmed red as if he had been crying so she gave in and fixed the treat for them.

"What about the toppings mom?" Wyatt asked knowing his mother kept all kinds of goodies they could put on the sundaes.

Piper reached into the cabinet and pulled down several goodies they could add to their dishes. "Here, Wyatt. You help him decide while I start the laundry."

It wasn't long till she looked back and saw the boys throwing peanuts and chocolate chips at each other. Wyatt was doing a pretty good job of catching the toppings in his mouth and his little brother wasn't doing so bad either. Normally she would have put a stop to such messy behavior but the giggles she heard coming from her youngest son kept her quiet. She just walked over behind them and ruffled their hair. "You two get clean up duty, okay?"

Wyatt's eyes widened as he realized he was getting out of his normal lecture but he turned back to his ice cream and gave his brother a conspiratorial look. "Mom, can we have more peanuts. He loves them," he called out seeing his brother finishing off the last of the ones she had given them.

"Sure can," she answered placing a kiss on each of her son's heads and paused after her youngest thinking of something. "My little peanut. I think that's what I'll call you." He just smiled up at her liking the sound of that.

Then she moved over to the cabinet and searched for more of the treats for them. Then she heard a sound that made her freeze and turn back to her sons. Her youngest had just made a choking sound and was grasping his throat. "Oh god!" she screamed running back to him thinking he was choking on the nuts.

Wyatt's eyes had widened in fear as he started slapping his brother's back also thinking the child was choking.

* * *

After the nightmare Chris had sat silently on the floor next to the couch not even bothering to get up. This had been the worst so far, as he remembered just how much of a failure he really was. He also remembered the vow he had made that day to do everything in his power to change things. He had known that other versions of himself had tried and failed and he would follow in their footsteps and try just as they had. It had taken him seven years to reconstruct the spell that would take him back in time and to prepare himself for what he knew he'd have to face in the past. But he had done it all with one thing in mind. He would get his brother back. The brother he knew Wyatt could have been. 

Then something happened. Fear gripped him as his throat started to constrict in on itself. "Oh, god, no!" he managed as he moved quickly towards the locker he had put most of his personal items in. He rummaged through the items until his hand rested on the item he needed and then he immediately orbed away to the Manor arriving in the kitchen just as Piper started to put the Heimlich Maneuver on her youngest son. He didn't waste any time as he reached out stopping her shaking his head but not able to speak anymore. Instead he sat his younger self on the table and jammed the Epi Pen into his thigh waiting for the injection to take affect.

"What are you doing, Chris?" Piper yelled in fear for her youngest.

Chris wasn't speaking though as he waited a few more seconds for his younger self to start breathing normally again. Once he felt the air sucking into his own lungs again he threw the pen down on the table and picked the small boy up. Tears had started to streak down his cheeks and he whimpered pitifully. "It's okay, you're fine now."

"Chris, what just happened to my son?" Piper yelled again pulling him around so he faced her.

"Piper, I know you are a chef but you're gonna have to forgo peanut products in your recipes from now on," he answered her hugging the boy tightly to his chest. "At least if you don't want your son to suffocate, that is."

Piper looked down to the table and the empty bowl of peanuts as it dawned on her what happened. "Allergic…" she said her eye roving over the Epi-pen Chris had used on her son. "Oh, god, baby Mommy's sorry. I didn't know," she said reaching up and stroking her youngest son's hair.

"Piper, call Leo. He's still gonna need to heal him. That pen is not a permanent fix. It just increases the oxygen in his lungs and besides the dosage is too much for him. We don't want to overdose him," Chris pointed out sitting down in the chair that his younger self had just been in before the reaction had nearly robbed him of his life.

"Leo," Piper called loudly gripped in the fear of not knowing whether her child was out of danger yet.

Wyatt was watching the two of them very closely and noticed that Chris' lips were slightly on the blue side just as his little brother's were. "Chris, how did you know what to do for him?"

Chris was a little uncomfortable with that question but he knew it would sound strange if he didn't answer it. "Well, did your Mom and Dad tell you that I know you all in the future?" he asked cautiously.

Wyatt shook his head no and looked to his mom who just nodded and called out again. "Leo, we need you now. Your son needs you!"

With those words bright blue and white orbs lit the room as Leo appeared before them. His eyes widened when he saw how ill his youngest son looked. "What happened?" he asked striding across the room and kneeling next to where Chris was holding the child.

Chris had started to feel the beginnings of the reaction take hold again and knew that this time was a really bad one. "Food allergy," he managed to say without his voice faltering but he knew that it would fail him again soon as his windpipe closed up.

Leo noticed the Epi-pen on the table and nodded as he held his hands out over his child's chest hoping and praying that his healing touch would work for this type of reaction. "Hey, little guy, come on stay with me," he whispered his voice breaking slightly as he watched how unresponsive his son was becoming due to the lack of oxygen. "Please work," he said in frustration, as it didn't seem to be working.

Chris was doing everything he could to keep himself upright and still hold his younger self, feeling the lethargy hitting him just as hard, as he prayed for the healing to work before the convulsions set in. It just couldn't end this way, not in an accident. He still had so much more to do.

But then the small boy took a deep breath and his eyes flew open seeing Leo right above him. He immediately reached up to him and Leo scooped him into his arms a large smile covering his face. "Oh, thank god," he said pulling his son as close as he could feeling his chest rise and fall in deep breaths. Once the boy had drawn in enough breath he pulled back and looked at his father and Leo checked him over not seeing any ill affects remaining. "Do you know, how much you scared Daddy?"

The boy didn't answer him but just hugged him even tighter hearing those words. Piper had circled around so she could also hug her son as the tears poured from her eyes. "I promise you, baby, Mommy will never give you anything that will hurt you like that again."

"What was his reaction to?" Leo asked in concern.

"Peanuts," she answered running her hand through the back of her son's hair wanting to feel him to be sure he would be alright.

Chris watched the entire scene as he regained his own ability to breath and even though he was healed right along with his younger counterpart he still felt like something was clenching his heart seeing the picture they made together. There hadn't been any happy joyous family moment when it was discovered that he was allergic to the food, but he couldn't begrudge his younger self the happiness he knew this family moment would bring him. Somehow he felt as if he was trespassing on the scene though and he quietly turned and picked up the Epi-pen meaning to sneak out of the kitchen and then orb back to P3.

Piper caught his movement out of the corner of her eye though and turned her tearstained face towards him. "Chris, where are you going?"

He flinched slightly realizing he had been caught trying to sneak away. "I just wanted to give you some time," he answered looking down in embarrassment.

"Chris, you just saved my son's life." Her voice sounded slightly surprised and Leo looked at her questioningly. "I thought he was choking but Chris stopped me and used that pen thing on him."

"Chris, you knew he was allergic to peanuts?" Leo asked in surprise.

"Yeah, but he wasn't supposed to have a reaction to them for a few more months, well at least he never did in any of the other timelines. In the last timeline he was at a birthday party and it was at a doctor's house. This sort of took me off guard," he explained nervously afraid that they'd be mad that he hadn't warned them.

"Where'd you get that pen thing that made him breath okay till Dad got here?" Wyatt asked wondering just how Chris would be able to explain that away.

Chris hadn't expected that question from Wyatt and wasn't sure how to get out of this one. His brother was certainly too smart for his own good. "It's mine, actually. I have food allergies too. That's why I was so worried. The dose is measured out for me, so it's too much for him."

"Chris, that was sort of dangerous," Leo said concerned that his son could have had a seriously adverse reaction to the larger dose.

"Leo, he wouldn't have made it till you got here. He wasn't breathing hardly at all when Chris showed up," Piper explained.

Leo's eyes widened in fear realizing just how close he was to losing his son. "Chris, I don't know how to thank you," he finally said as tears started misting his eyes. "You saved my son."

Chris just shook his head not wanting to accept the praise since all he had done was save himself. He knew that they couldn't know that though, so he'd have to accept their thanks but he would play it down as much as possible anyway. "It's nothing. I knew what to do, so I acted. I'm just glad he's okay."

Piper moved forward and grabbed Chris' hand. "It's more than nothing, Chris. I'll never be able to thank you enough for this."

Chris pulled his hand out of Pipers and moved back slightly. "It's really okay. Just forget about it. I need to go," he said nervously disappearing in a cloud of orbs.

"What was that about?" Piper asked in confusion but soon put it to the back of her mind as she turned again to check on her son.

Wyatt was very glad that his little brother would be okay, but somehow he hadn't been so worried when Chris had appeared. He just knew that Chris could fix it. But now he had even more reason to believe in the theory he had about his brother and Chris.

Chris stood on the very top of the Golden Gate Bridge and sighed in relief at being away from the Manor. That was just too close, and not only the allergic reaction but also the possibility that they'd figure out just who he was. He just couldn't handle that happening. Not ever.

* * *

_A/N: Okay, so one person knows Chris' secret. Are we all surprised that I chose Wyatt as the first to figure it out? I just figured that with two young boys like that, eventually the urge to tell secrets would come out. And the little one had to figure out how to talk eventually. So hate it, love it. What do you think? Next chapter things don't go so well, so stay tuned._


	11. I'm Sorry

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

**Chapter 11 I'm Sorry**

"Wow, Chris really saved the little guy, huh?" Paige asked as she fixed herself a second cup of coffee. Piper had just finished relating what had occurred two days before.

"Yes. If he hadn't been here I don't know what would have happened. I just didn't realize what was going on." Piper commented as she held her youngest son on her lap. She and Leo were both keeping a close eye on him for any adverse affects the reaction might have caused, but nothing had turned up.

Wyatt watched as his mother and aunts discussed the one person they had not seen since the incident, which seemed sort of strange to him. He had thought that maybe now that everyone was being so nice to Chris that he'd spend more time with them, but the opposite was happening instead.

"Where is Chris, by the way? I'd like to thank my little buddy," Phoebe asked noticing his absence also.

"He seemed awful embarrassed when Leo and I thanked him. He couldn't get out of here fast enough, it seemed," Piper explained what had been puzzling her ever since Chris had left the Manor two days before. "He hasn't been back since either."

Phoebe could only guess at Chris' views on being praised. None of them had ever praised him for anything since arriving in the present timeline. "Maybe he doesn't deal with praise so well because he never receives any," she pointed out wanting to make her sisters rethink their treatment of him without flat out telling them to.

Piper and Paige both paused in what they were doing and Phoebe was sure she had gotten through to them until Paige spoke up. "Ah, it's probably just a guy thing." Piper nodded at that agreeing with her youngest sister.

Phoebe couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You two really need to take sensitivity lessons." That statement only garnered her confused looks.

During the discussion Wyatt had left the room. He was sure that his little brother would be just fine with their mom and the aunts so he had wondered up to the attic remembering that he had left some of his favorite toys up there. He was surprised though to find the attic already occupied. Chris was standing next to the podium holding the Book of Shadows. He had a pen in one hand tapping it against his teeth and a pad of paper in the other as he flipped through the Book for what felt like the millionth time.

Wyatt paused in the doorway and stared at Chris wondering just how he should go about discussing the secret he now shared with his brother and the grown man that Wyatt was sure he'd one day become.

After a minute or so of Wyatt staring at him Chris started feeling uncomfortable and looked up. "Hey, Wy. I didn't know you were standing there."

"Yeah, what you up to, Chris?" he asked thinking it best not to just blurt out what he had learned.

"Just the same as always. What about you?" Chris asked, continuing to flip through the book.

"I'm pretty bored. Mom won't let the little guy out of her sight, so I don't have anyone to play with," he answered honestly.

"Eh, sorry 'bout that. Your mom just had a scare. She'll loosen up in a couple of days." Chris remembered just how protective and smothering Piper could be at times. "Where's your dad? I figured he'd stick around pretty close too." Actually Chris wasn't so sure about that. The Leo he had grown up with wouldn't have cared to be around but the Leo he was coming to know in this timeline was a whole other story.

"He has been. But the other Elders got pretty ticked the other day when he just bailed on them without explaining anything. I guess he's got some kind of special meeting 'up there' today because of it. He didn't seem so worried about it though. I heard him tell Mom that family comes first no matter what 'they' say." Wyatt explained.

Chris was very surprised to hear that. The Leo from his timeline was usually the first one to be spouting Elder rules.

"So have you figured out what demon gets to me yet?" Wyatt asked again surprising Chris. The pen fell from his hand and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Where did you hear that?" he asked in concern. They had all been trying their hardest to keep that from Wyatt, worried how he'd take the threat.

"Chris, you know how thin the walls and doors are in this house," Wyatt explained off handedly as he walked around the room looking at some of the demon fighting items they had collected over the years.

Chris just stared slightly in awe of how well Wyatt was taking the news that a demon was after him.

Wyatt glanced back at him with a look that said 'what?' and then spoke up. "You guys aren't gonna let anything happen to me. I already know that," he explained in utter confidence.

_Glad you have faith_, Chris thought to himself, as he went back to flipping through the Book. If only to have that kind of faith himself.

Wyatt crossed over next to him and stared at the demons in the Book, still not sure how to get Chris to open up to him. None of the demons that were flipping by seemed at all like anything special to either of them, until one picture caught Wyatt's attention. "She's a demon?" he asked incredulously.

Chris smiled at Wyatt's reaction. Though the boy was too young to realize what physical attraction was, he still could appreciate a beautiful woman. "That is a Seer, and yes she is a demon," he explained.

"A Seer. What does she see?" Wyatt asked curiously.

"For the most part, the future. But before you ask, I've already been to see her, and she couldn't tell me anything about the demon that is after you." Chris had actually been to her several times, both in the past and the future. Part of him could swear that she was holding something back, but if she was she was a much more convincing liar than he was.

"I wonder what she could tell me about my future?" Wyatt wondered thinking that maybe she would have the answers to his questions about Chris and his little brother.

Chris began to explain that he had already asked her about Wyatt's future but then it struck him. Always before she had been reading Chris' future concerning Wyatt. What if having Wyatt there did make a difference. But that would mean taking Wyatt to the underworld, something that went way beyond dangerous. "I don't think your parents would think too highly of me taking you to the Seer. I'm supposed to be keeping you away from demons."

Wyatt ignored Chris' excuse as he imagined himself in the underworld fighting demons right along side of Chris. It seemed like such an exciting adventure, one he'd give almost anything to really live. "But we could find out what demon you are looking for. I mean if it was so important that you had to travel back in time, isn't it worth a little bit of risk?"

Chris' eyes squinted slightly at the conniving he could see Wyatt doing. "I'd say… um no! Wyatt, that's not even a slightly good idea," Chris countered even though he was halfway trying to convince himself of the fact too. If the Seer really could tell them who gets to his brother he wouldn't fail this time around. He was positive of it. There wasn't a demon alive that could match the Charmed Ones yet.

"Oh come on, Chris. I know you don't really believe that or you would have never tried the Seer to begin with." Wyatt could hear the hesitation in Chris' voice and was sure with just a little more convincing he'd get him to agree.

"Wyatt, I'm not sure if it's worth the risk," Chris said leaning just a little further in the idea's favor.

"Hey, we orb in, and right back out once she talks. No messing with any other demons." _Unless it couldn't be helped that is, _Wyatt thought to himself privately. "It's worth a try, Chris." Wyatt waited in anticipation for Chris to decide, almost holding his breath.

"You have to do everything I say," Chris warned and a bright smile lit the boy's face. "What am I getting myself into?" Chris added to himself seeing that smile.

"Let's go," Wyatt said impatiently tugging at Chris' shirtsleeve.

"Whoa, slow down there. We need a few things, and you have to swear never to tell your folks about this. You mom would blow me to bits," Chris warned as he crossed to one of the bookshelves and took down a leather pouch that was hidden behind some large books.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. What's that?" he asked full of curiosity and becoming very hyper at the prospect of traveling to the underworld.

"Vanquishing potions. I keep an emergency kit for when I need to go on a vanquish." Chris had been using his emergency kit often in the past few weeks but hoped he wouldn't need to again for a while. Even though it gave him a sense of satisfaction to vanquish the foul creatures, it was all becoming just way too much for him to take and exhaustion set in more and more often. Which meant more sleep. Which in turn meant more nightmares.

"Chris if we see a demon other than the Seer, can I vanquish it?" Wyatt asked taking Chris' hand waiting for him to orb them to the Seer's lair.

"Wyatt!" Chris said sternly as orbs enveloped them both. "That is not funny."

"Just asking," Wyatt piped up as they reappeared in an underground cavern. The room was completely bare other than a rock formation in the center, which was only a few inches shorter than Wyatt himself. As they moved closer both of them could see a clear liquid in a depression formed in the center of the rock's surface. Chris already knew that this was the seeing pool that the Seer used to see the future and only she knew how it worked.

The Seer herself stood on the far side of the seeing pool and she looked as if she was waiting for them to come to her. "I wondered when you'd bring him to me. I saw it coming a long time ago," she spoke confidently.

"If that's the case why didn't you suggest it last time I was here?" Chris asked stepping even further forward to stand opposite her with the seeing pool between them.

"It was your decision to make. Not mine," she answered then turned to Wyatt motioning him forward. "Come here, boy, and we shall see what your future holds," she called.

Wyatt moved forward after Chris nodded his approval and stood next to the Seer so he could see into the pool with her.

"You wish to see your future? To see who is responsible for you being removed from your parents side?" she asked and Wyatt nodded but thought that he'd also like to know why Chris was hiding so much from them.

"Look into the pool and see what you future holds," she whispered laying one hand on his shoulder and holding her other hand out over the pool of water. Chris moved around to her other side so he could see the vision also.

_At first the water was very cloudy but as she moved her hand back and forth over it the vision cleared and they watched as events unfolded. The vision showed both Wyatt and Chris standing in the attic and it was easy to see the worry covering both their faces._

_Chris looked over to Wyatt and shook his head. "Don't worry, they'll find him. They always do."_

_Wyatt stared at their Whitelighter and nodded solemnly and then stared back at the attic door as if waiting for someone to arrive._

_Chris had a very nervous look on his face that made his other words seem to almost be a lie. "Listen, Wyatt, I need to leave."_

_Wyatt looked sharply at him and a look of confusion crossed his features. "Where are you going?"_

"_I have to go back to my own time. I'm afraid that if things keep going as they are, my mission will fail here. I haven't changed enough to make a difference and it's not gonna do any good for me to stay," Chris explained not able to look the young boy in the face._

Chris' eyes widened as he realized what they were seeing. "This is not what we wanted to see," he said his face going pale at what he knew was soon to come.

The Seer gave him a strange look and then spoke. "The boy wanted to see who is responsible for him being take from his parents. The pool will show him that," she explained and Chris could see the knowing look in her eyes.

"Wyatt, we are leaving," Chris yelled reaching across the pool to grab Wyatt's arm but he pulled it away.

"I want to see the rest, Chris," Wyatt said thinking that somehow he'd get the answers he wanted from the pool.

Wyatt turned back to the image but had missed part of what they said. "Wait, make it go back. I missed that."

"I can not make it go back. You must watch it as it projects, child," the Seer explained pushing herself more firmly between the two not wanting Chris to interrupt what Wyatt would see.

_"I'm sorry I failed you, Wyatt. I promise to try harder next time," Chris said kneeling in front of the child and hugging him. The Wyatt from the vision had tears in his eyes and hugged him back._

_With that Chris stood and crossed the attic floor to a wall that already had the symbol of the Triquetra drawn on it and then pulled a piece of paper from his pocket speaking the words to the spell that would open the portal. He took one last look and called out again. "I'm sorry, Wyatt." Then he stepped through the portal and it closed behind him._

_The moment he was gone a very frightening voice was heard behind the boy. "So your protector has left you all alone to fend for yourself. How convenient for me."_

With that the image faded away and Wyatt backed away from the stone basin looking up at Chris with accusation written clearly in his eyes. "You left me?"

Chris wasn't sure what to say. He didn't have any memory of that happening but he knew it had six times over already. How could he defend himself against what he had done? He couldn't. So instead he turned to the Seer. "What about the rest. I want to see the demon who took him."

The Seer shook her head and gave him a pitiful look. "He wanted to see who was responsible for him being taken. He saw that. He did not ask who the demon was that took him."

Chris turned to Wyatt with a pleading look. "Wyatt, ask her who took you?"

Wyatt shook his head a petulant look crossing his face. "It's your fault, Chris. I wish I'd never met you." With that the small boy turned and ran from the chamber blindly as tears began to form in his eyes. Chris had betrayed him. He had left him. He knew that there was no way Chris could be his little brother. His little brother wouldn't do that to him. Would he?

"Wyatt, stop. It's too dangerous," Chris called running after him.

* * *

Leo orbed back into the Manor kitchen and smiled at the sight of his youngest son being held by his wife as she talked with her sisters. "Hey, everyone."

"How'd it go?" Piper asked slightly worried.

"Oh, you know the Elders. They lectured, I said I was sorry and it wouldn't happen again." Which he knew darn well it probably would. "Everything's fine till next time."

Piper shook her head and he bent to kiss her cheek then grabbed his son who was holding his arms up to him. "And how are you and your brother today?" he asked swinging the small child around. He looked around the kitchen then and noticed that Wyatt was not there. "Where's Wyatt?"

Piper and her sisters looked around surprised that he wasn't still there. "He must have went up to his room or the attic to play," Piper suggested.

"Well, how about we go get him, huh?" Leo asked his youngest who just giggled as he tickled his stomach.

Then he headed upstairs with the little guy still in his arms.

"Leo sure is a good father to those two," Paige commented.

"Yes, not at all like what Chris suggested he would be," Piper agreed.

Phoebe had to roll her eyes at the statement. "People change, you two."

Piper looked at her sister with a scowl. "Are you suggesting that Leo might still become the monster that Chris talked about from his future?"

"No, I'm suggesting that somehow Chris made a change in this time period that will keep Leo from becoming that monster." Phoebe had thought a lot about it and it was the only thing that she could come up with to explain the difference.

Piper nodded a couple of times. "Maybe he did. If so, I'm very glad that Chris came back in time."

Paige was about to agree with the sentiment but they suddenly heard a yell from the upstairs area. "Piper, Wyatt's gone."

* * *

Chris had been chasing after Wyatt for several minutes and was surprised just how fast the child was. They were in a set of chambers that had anti-orbing crystals set up so he couldn't catch up that way, which meant he'd just have to do it the old fashioned way. "Wyatt stop. Let me talk to you," he called to the boy who ignored him and ducked through yet another chamber door and turned a corner, so Chris could no longer see him. Chris pushed himself even faster afraid of what his brother might run into in the underworld.

Once Chris rounded the next corner he realized that they were now in a chamber that they could orb in so he orbed his way right in front of Wyatt grabbing him by the shoulders so he couldn't orb away from him. "Wyatt, please, this is dangerous."

"Leave me alone, Chris," Wyatt yelled angrily at him. "I don't want you around me anymore."

Chris was about to try to explain things to Wyatt when they were suddenly surrounded by several demons shimmering in around them. Chris immediately swung around throwing his arm out and knocking several of them away from them. "Wyatt, orb back to the Manor," he called wanting to get him to safety first.

"Don't tell me what to do, Chris," Wyatt yelled crossing his arms in front of himself petulantly.

"Fine, you want to die today, that's your problem," Chris called out in frustration as he pulled several potion vials from his emergency kit and started pitching them at the demons that were way too close for him to safely orb them away all the while using his telekinesis to bat away energy balls that flew towards them. Wyatt watched Chris repeatedly vanquishing the demons that kept appearing and felt cheated somehow. Wasn't this what he had hoped for? The opportunity to vanquish demons in the underworld with Chris. But instead what was he actually doing? Standing around while Chris had all the fun and he felt useless. It wasn't fair. Chris didn't deserve to have all the fun. Wyatt was seething with anger, anger at Chris, anger at his parents for trusting him, and anger at the demons for attacking them while he couldn't defend himself.

He looked at the nearest demon, which was actually a little bit too close for comfort and concentrated all his anger at the monster as he blinked his eyes. To both his and Chris' surprise the demon burst into flames and disappeared from sight.

Chris turned slightly towards Wyatt, who held a surprised expression. "Can you do that again?" Chris remembered this power from the Wyatt he had known in the future but was a little surprised that he had already learned to use it.

Wyatt turned to the demon on his right and concentrated on doing the same. Yet again the demon burst into flames and soon was no more. "Oh wow!" Wyatt yelled in glee as he turned again and managed to vanquish two demons at once.

After several such demons ended the same, the few that were left decided to cut their losses and shimmered away leaving just Chris and Wyatt in the silent chamber. Chris immediately grabbed Wyatt's arm and orbed them away not wanting to risk another attack.

* * *

"Where can he be? He wasn't gone for long. I thought he'd just come up here to play," Piper said pacing the attic floor as her youngest sister scryed for him while Phoebe prepared to use the 'to call a lost witch' spell. Leo was standing to the side concentrating as hard as he could on sensing his son. Their youngest son sat quietly in the corner just watching them. He could sense what was going on in the underworld but knew that Chris wouldn't want him to speak to them about it so he was doing his best to blend into the woodwork.

Piper made another turn of the room and noticed something she had missed on the last ten passes. "Someone has been here."

"What?" Leo asked turning to her.

"The Book. I remember closing it earlier. But now it's open," Piper explained running her hand along the books pages.

"Let me see if I can get a reading on it," Phoebe suggested crossing over to the Book and laying her hand on the picture of the Seer. She immediately had a premonition and when she opened her eyes they were filled with worry.

"What did you see?" Piper asked impatiently.

Phoebe didn't want to say it. They had all pretty much just started to trust and even to like Chris, but she also knew that if Wyatt's life were at stake she had no choice. "Chris was here and he and Wyatt orbed away."

"Away to where?" Piper asked flabbergasted by the admission.

Phoebe looked down to the book and tapped the picture of the Seer.

"Noooo!" Piper denied shaking her head vigorously. " Why would he do that?"

Paige and Leo had joined them at the podium and both realized what they were implying. "Maybe Chris thinks they can get information from the Seer, as to what demon is after Wyatt," Paige suggested.

"Chris would not take Wyatt to the underworld. He knows better. Doesn't he?" Piper asked in utter fear.

But there wasn't time for anyone to answer as Chris and Wyatt both orbed back into the room. Neither of them seemed to notice those watching them as Wyatt yanked his arm from Chris' grasp. "Don't touch me. I can orb by myself."

"Well considering the fact that you didn't do as I said and orbed back when the demons attacked, I thought I'd give you an assist," Chris answered in an oh to sweet, patronizing voice. "That was not the wisest idea, Wyatt."

"Just go away, Chris. I don't want you here and neither will Mom and Dad when they find out the truth," Wyatt screamed in anger.

Chris deflated at that. He never wanted to make Wyatt so angry with him. He had done everything in his power to win Wyatt's trust since arriving in the past and that had all flown out the window in such a short time. "Wyatt, listen. Let me explain what you saw."

"How are you gonna explain the fact that you abandoned me to the demon?" Wyatt asked incredulously. Chris' head sunk in shame, as he knew there was really no way to explain it all away.

"What the hell is going on here?" Piper yelled regaining her voice after watching the exchange between them.

Both Chris and Wyatt turned at her voice and Chris felt a sense of dread slip over him. He knew he couldn't stop Wyatt from telling them.

Wyatt pointed at Chris. "The Seer, she showed me," he started but his voice faltered and his hand began to shake as everything he had learned finally began to wear on him now that the adrenaline rush was gone. "She showed me what Chris is gonna do in my future," he said his voice becoming quieter and much sadder.

They all stared at Chris, who yet again had let his gaze fall to the floor not wanting them to see the emotions in his eyes. "Chris, what is he talking about?" Leo asked in concern, seeing that Wyatt was having a hard time finishing what he wanted to say.

Oh how horrible it was. They were actually gonna make him tell. He had to lay his most shameful moment bare for them all to see. For if he did not, Wyatt would, he knew. "I don't have any memories of what the Seer showed Wyatt," he admitted first never looking up.

"What did she show him?" Piper asked in an anxious tone. Could this be something even worse than what they already feared?

"Me going back to my own time…" he said but paused not able to say more, knowing his voice would break if he attempted to.

Wyatt wasn't going to let it go at that though as he saw the confusion on his family's faces. "Yeah, right before the demon takes me."

"What?" Piper asked not sure she had heard him right.

Wyatt turned back to Chris his voice full of accusation again. "You even told me you were sorry for failing me and you would try harder next time."

"Wyatt, I'm sorry but there are things you don't know…" Chris began to say but wasn't sure where to go from there without revealing all his secrets.

"It's true, Chris? You really abandoned him to a demon in the vision?" Paige accused.

Chris knew there was no use lying so he just nodded and let his face drop again not daring to look into their faces which he was sure were livid with anger by then.

"There has to be a better explanation. Chris, tell me there is some other reason why," Phoebe pleaded not wanting to lose faith in him.

Chris could only shake his head in denial. "I don't know, Phoebe. I just don't know. I don't have a memory of doing that, but I was told in the future that I did. So I guess it has to be true."

"Maybe you don't have a memory of it because you are too ashamed of it and want to block it out," Leo suggested bitterly. He had had so much faith in Chris. He trusted his son with him. How could he have been so wrong?

Chris looked up to Leo and couldn't help nodding 'yes' knowing that that part was true. "Ashamed of being a coward. Yeah, I'd say that's probably a good enough guess." His voice matched Leo's in bitterness as all of the years of blaming himself came back to him in an instant. "Not to mention the guilt. We can't forget that one."

Piper hadn't said anything else yet as she thought over the good things that Chris had done and weighed them against the betrayal he had yet to commit. "I think Wyatt is right, Chris. You should leave."

Chris nodded sadly accepting her wishes. "I'll come back when you've had time to think," he whispered in a dejected tone.

"No, Chris. I don't think you understand me. I think you should go back to your own time," she suggested calmly. "It's for the best. Let us handle the demon."

Chris' mouth gaped open. How could he just leave and not come back? "I can't. You don't know everything. You aren't prepared to face what happens."

"Chris, no one is gonna kill my son, or take his powers, or do anything else to harm him," Piper said becoming a little testy at his refusal to go.

"You don't understand. I can't just travel back to the future not knowing whether or not Wyatt will be evil when I get back," he blurted in desperation.

"Wait don't you mean knowing whether the evil gets Wyatt?" Paige asked hearing his slip up.

"Explain, Chris," Piper demanded angrily.

Chris hated to say the words that he knew they needed to hear at that point. "No, I meant what I said. In my future Wyatt grows up to be the evil that rules the world. Whatever demon gets to him changes him. None of you noticed for a very long time, and by the time you did it was too late to turn him back. So I came here to change it before it ever happens."

"You are lying," Wyatt yelled running to his mother's side and grabbing her around the waist.

Chris hadn't really thought of what his admission would do to Wyatt. He should have guessed how upsetting it would be for an eight year old to hear that they were to become the worst evil in the future. "I'm sorry, Wyatt. I didn't want to hurt you," he began to say as he walked forward wanting to comfort his brother, but just as he tried Piper's hands came up as she tried to freeze him. But he didn't stop moving until he noticed her hands and the astonished look on her face.

"Why didn't he freeze? Why didn't you freeze, Chris?" she asked nervously.

Chris stopped where he was and bit his bottom lip glancing away from them, not ready at all to reveal yet another of his secrets.

"Yeah, Chris. How is that possible?" Paige asked her eyes squinting in suspicion.

"Maybe because I'm a witch," he answered looking straight at Paige.

"You liar," she accused in astonished anger.

"But you orb?" Leo asked worried about what that implied.

"Half witch, half Whitelighter, just like Paige and your sons. The future is a very different world, Leo," he admitted.

"Chris, you and I had an agreement. I'd trust you if you stopped lying to me," Piper said remembering the discussion they had had days before.

"What do you expect, Piper? If I'd come up and said, hey guess what, your son is gonna become pure evil in the future, and I'm not really the Whitelighter I've been posing as all along what would have been your reaction? Not to mention the fact that I apparently am going to abandon your son to the demon that's going to turn him evil in the near future," Chris said defensively knowing that they would have never accepted him there if they knew it all.

Piper nodded a few times and looked down at Wyatt as she decided what to do. "I'd probably say the same thing I'm gonna say right now, Chris. Get out of my house and don't ever come back. You are not welcome here anymore."

Chris' face contracted into a hurt look hearing those words from his mother. He would have expected it from Leo. It wasn't the first time he'd ever heard them from him but never from his Mom. He swallowed hard looking from one disappointed face to another knowing that no one would come to his rescue this time. He closed his eyes for a second and his next words came out full of emotion. "I'm sorry." Then he orbed away from what had once upon a time had been his home, but he knew would never be again.

* * *

Chris found himself yet again on the very top most reaches of the bridge but this time he felt no comfort, only pain. He had really ruined it all this time around and was almost positive that his younger version wouldn't even be allowed to stay with them once Wyatt told them who he really was after the demon was done with him.

What could he do now? How could he fix this? They hated him. They never trusted him. He had accepted that, but this time they even hated him beyond any other person in the world.

He couldn't possibly win them back over. There was nothing he could do, was there?

He sat with his legs folded up next to his chest and his arms around them as he rocked back and forth letting the tears fall from his eyes unchecked as he went over every horrible thing that had ever been said to him both in his future and in the present. It was just too much. There was too much hate. Too much anger. How could he ever overcome that?

But what else could he do? He couldn't go back to his own time. Wyatt would surely kill him this time around, and he couldn't face another lifetime of failure and ridicule. So he would wait. He would wait until he knew it was happening and then he'd do whatever he needed to change it. No matter what the outcome.

The Seer stood next to her seeing pool and waved her hand over the vision of the crying young man, who she had seen such a short time before. She felt the presence next to her and knew that she need not turn to sense the demon of fear there. A cackle of laughter sounded near her ear and then a husky voice whispered in her ear. "You are invaluable, aren't you. I see none of your fears ever surfacing in the future, my dear."

She shivered as he shimmered out behind her leaving her feeling cold and shaking all over.

* * *

_A/N: Oh my, was that a long chapter that was just full of secrets being revealed. Oh wait. I forgot Chris' other secret. Ooops! Guess they have to wait for that one. So comments anyone?_


	12. Promises Made, Promises Kept

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N:** After my last chapter I noticed one thing that bothered me. For the most part I completely left little Chris out of the chapter, and I really did not mean to do so. His thoughts and emotions are just as important as the adults, so this next chapter is partially about him. So I hope you all enjoy this.

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**Chapter 12 Promises Made, Promises Kept**

For several days following Chris' eviction from the Halliwell Manor Wyatt walked around as if the world was ending. He knew his parents and aunts would do whatever they could to keep him safe but still… he had had so much faith in Chris for some reason. He had looked up to him, wanted to be like him, and he had trusted him. He no longer knew whom to trust anymore and his entire family could see the turmoil he was in and they all attempted to try to draw him out of the shell he was beginning to lock himself into but nothing they said seemed to work.

But there was one member of the family who was not attempting to speak to Wyatt. The youngest and smallest member of the family had also locked himself away inside his own mind. He had witnessed the scene in the attic and even if he hadn't he would have felt everything that Chris did through their link. He could feel the turmoil and rejection just as if it were he that had been driven away, and he could also feel the hate that Wyatt felt for his older counterpart and that was the defining factor in keeping him away from his brother.

Wyatt walked into the room he shared with his brother and flopped down on his bed uninterested in any of his normal hobbies or pastimes. He stared up to the ceiling at the decorations his mother had added the week before. Planets, stars and constellations of the universe twinkled down at him and he wondered if there were any place in the universe he could go to take himself away from the mess his life had become. Just a few days before his greatest worry had been teaching his little brother how to play and now he found himself faced with the fact that he would someday soon become the greatest evil on earth. It didn't seem quite possible to him. He preferred to imagine that Chris had lied to him, than to believe that he would become a monster in the future.

As he lay there pondering everything he noticed a noise that seemed out of place in the bedroom. He sat up and looked around wondering where that sound had come from. There it was again and he could have sworn that it came from his closet. He wondered if maybe a mouse had taken up residence in there. That would be cool. He never had any pets, and he wanted one desperately and wasn't at all picky about what species it was, well as long as it wasn't a demon that is. For a moment he wondered if maybe he should call for his dad to check out the noise but then he remembered his new power. Couldn't he handle whatever it was? So with that thought he slowly crossed the room and stood in front of the closet door, which stood just slightly ajar but not enough for him to peer inside. So with shaky hands he reached out and slowly pulled the door open.

Instead of some animal making a home of his closet he found his little brother wrapped in a blanket at the bottom of the closet surrounded by several stuffed toys that almost covered his small body. The noise that Wyatt had heard was his bother sniffling as he fiercely attempted to push back the tears that were spilling down his cheeks.

Wyatt was surprised to see the sight. He had assumed that his brother was with his parents but then again he hadn't seen a whole lot of the boy for the last few days, had he? "Wha'cha doing in the closet?" he asked kneeling in front of the boy.

The boy hurriedly wiped the tears from his face and looked down away from Wyatt. "Want to be alone," he said almost too quietly for Wyatt to hear him.

"Why?" his brother asked in confusion. Ever since he had come to stay with them he had not been able to get enough of the family. What made him want to be alone now, Wyatt wondered?

"Don't belong here," he answered again in that tiny, saddened voice.

"Well of course you belong here, Kid. What made you think that ya didn't?" Wyatt asked in an unbelieving voice. He had completely put the idea of his younger brother being Chris out of his mind, not wanting to believe it at all convincing himself that them having the same name had to be just a coincidence.

"I don't want you to hate me, Wyatt," the child admitted as a sob ripped from his mouth.

Wyatt couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I don't hate you, Kiddo." He immediately reached out grabbing his brother's arm and pulled him from the closet wrapping his arms around the youngster protectively. "God, why would you think that I hate you?"

The child cried on his brother's should gripping him tightly for several long minutes and then pulled himself away and stood backing away slightly. He was almost standing in the closet again but he did not attempt to return to his hiding spot just yet. "You hate him," he said wiping the tears away again bitterly.

Wyatt blinked at those words. Of course his brother had seen the conversation with Chris. "But that's a different story. Chris was gonna betray me if he stayed here."

The small boy shook his head and then his face fell as his eyes found the floor. "And what about all the times you betrayed him?"

Wyatt's mouth gaped at that statement not at all sure of what his brother was talking about.

"He grew up with you betraying him. I've seen it in every dream for the past few weeks. I can't help but see it. I know everything he knows. I see what he sees. I have his memories. They confuse me, but I know what you did," the boy choked out trying not to sob at the memories he had seen.

Wyatt was frozen in his spot, unable to move or talk. He hadn't wanted to believe it was true. He wanted his little brother not to be the man he had come to hate. His tongue finally loosened enough to speak. "What do you mean?"

"Do you know what he is doing now, Wy? I do. He's waiting. Waiting for the demon to show up so he can try to stop it. Always waiting. He still wants to save you. To save the brother who hated him for so many years, who broke his nose and then told him that Daddy didn't want to heal him, who teased him for his tears, who choked him nearly to death for telling Daddy the truth about him. He still wants to save you and you hate him for it." He wanted to scream at Wyatt so he'd realize how much he was hurting him but he knew he couldn't do that. He couldn't let the others know, no matter what. They hated Chris just as much as Wyatt did and he knew they might make him go away if they found out the truth.

Wyatt swallowed hard hearing all of the horrible things that he would apparently do to his brother in the future. But that wasn't him. "That's not me, Kid. I won't do that. I promise you I won't."

"That's what he wanted to tell you, but you wouldn't let him. He wanted to tell you that he'd never abandon you no matter what. And he won't. I know he won't. Because I know that I won't. He'll try to save you Wyatt, and if he fails then I'll grow up to be just like him, and I'll try just as he did. You'll be mean to me just like the other you was to him, but I'll still try to save you. And they will all hate me just like they do him and you'll hate me just like you do him but I'll still do it. He won't give up and neither will I." The words had come out in a rush as the child said words that he only halfway understood but they were still there in his mind and he knew they were right and he would do exactly what he said when the time came.

He whirled around with that and again dove into his hiding place where he planned to stay for as long as they would let him. He curled up into a small ball in the corner of the closet with his back to his brother having no intention of speaking to him again any time soon.

Wyatt still kneeled on the floor where he had been when this conversation had started and he felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He had been too concerned with what was to happen to him in the future to even think about the horrors he might do to his little brother, or the things that another version of himself might have already done to the grown up Chris. What horrors had he done to drive the young man to be willing to go through everything he was in the past? How many did he kill? What kind of life had he made for him? There had to be more, he knew. His brother had been having nightmares both day and night for weeks now. And what had he done? He had made his family hate Chris. His words had done that. They hated his little brother and it was his fault. He had to fix it. That was all there was for it. He had to fix everything, starting first with his brother who was curled in the closet before him.

He slowly crawled into the closet moving the toys back until he was sitting right behind his brother. "I'm sorry, Kid," he called softly touching his brother's back which he noticed was shaking under the affect of silent sobs that he was trying to hold back. The boy's body became rigid and he whimpered slightly. "Please, I don't hate you. I love you and I won't ever hurt you, any version of you."

The boy still did not turn to his brother not believing anything he said.

"Please, turn around here," Wyatt pleaded reaching up and running his hand fondly through his brother's hair. "Please, **Chris**, I don't hate you. You're my brother and I will never hate you."

The child heard him use his real name for the first time and realized that it was a sign of his brother accepting him for who he was and he sat a little straighter as he turned slightly and was surprised to see tears glistening in his brother's eyes too.

Wyatt reached out his hand hoping his brother would accept it and with only a little hesitation the child turned so he could again grab his brother in a fierce hug. They sat like that for a long time with Wyatt just holding his brother offering him the comfort he needed.

"Wy, we have to help him fix this," the child said looking up to his brother's face with utter confidence that they could do just that if they did it together. "I don't know how to do it. But I can't bear to feel his feelings anymore. I want to cry all the time and it hurts here," he said motioning to his chest. "I feel like something is breaking inside."

Wyatt closed his eyes realizing that it was the grown Chris who was feeling like that and his younger self just could not help but pick up on it. "We'll fix it somehow. I promise you, we will."

Neither of them noticed the being that was just outside the closet door listening to them in his invisible form just barely holding back the cackle of delight that threatened to leave his mouth. Oh how much lovely fear and pain he could wring from this family. Now to get the boys separated for just a short while.

He kneeled next to the oldest and whispered into his ear, "Don't you hear her calling you? It's your mother. She wants you. She needs you to come and be her big man again. Leave the young one here. He will be safe for a time."

Wyatt suddenly had the strange urge to go find his mother and see if she needed help with anything. "Hey, I want to go see mom for a while. You'll be okay here," he suggested as he stood and left his confused brother alone in the closet.

Barbas knew he could have easily taken the oldest brother instead of the little one. That was his intended goal in the end. But this way would be so much more fun. All of the fear and pain he would bring to the entire Halliwell family was just too tempting to pass up, and hadn't he been planning this for so very long? Yes, events would unfold just as they had before.

So with that he silently summoned the Necromancer to do his bidding.

* * *

_Several hours later:_

"My God, where can he be?" Piper said her voice full of fear.

"Calm down, Piper. We'll find him. We will," Paige said walking over to the attic window where Piper stood staring out to the street in front of the Manor. She wrapped her arms around her sister trying to offer the slightest amount of comfort.

Phoebe was sitting at the table in the middle of the room with a map and a scrying crystal, trying desperately to block out the emotions that were assaulting her as she attempted to locate her newest nephew.

"How could we let this happen? We were so concerned with finding the demon that gets to Wyatt that we let our guard down. We should have known that killing the Karas demons wouldn't go without repercussions." Piper couldn't believe that they had lost her youngest and hadn't even noticed he was gone. What kind of mother doesn't notice that her son is missing?

Phoebe couldn't take it anymore. The feeling of self-loathing her sister was throwing off was just more than she could stand at the moment. "Piper, this is not your fault. Chris kept harping on us to concentrate on Wyatt and we were so afraid of what he said coming true that we never thought of someone taking his little brother. And it might not have even been a demon. Children get kidnapped every day in America."

Paige gave her sister a look that clearly said 'fat chance' and then pointed something out to burst her bubble. "I think the scrying would have worked by now if he was taken by mortals, Phoebe."

Piper had ignored the comment about a normal kidnapping. Nothing in her life was normal. She was quite sure that her son's abduction would not be an exception to that fact either. "We didn't even notice he was missing, Phoebe. I have no idea how long he's even been gone. What must he think? Maybe that we cared so much more about Wyatt that we wouldn't be there when he needed us." The words ended with a sob that she just couldn't hold back.

"We don't care more about Wyatt and you know that," Paige scolded. "We love both of them the same."

"I know that and so do you, but he's just a child. How can he know that?" Piper knew that her feelings of inadequacy as a mother were not helping them at all but that didn't stop her from feeling them or at this point voicing them rather loudly.

"Listen, we need to worry less about his state of mind and more about finding him right now," Phoebe said trying to bring them back to the task at hand. "This would be so much easier if we knew who took him though," she added sighing deeply as the scrying crystal just swung around and around never landing on any one place.

"Wait. Maybe someone does know. What about Chris? Where do you think he is? We haven't seen him since the other night." Paige asked rather hesitantly, not sure that bringing him up was such a good idea.

"That's probably because Piper kicked him out," Phoebe pointed out under her breath, still not liking that decision. None of them had thought about Chris though. They just figured that after what had happened that he wouldn't dare to try to remove either of the boys from the Manor again. "You don't think that Chris… No, he wouldn't do anything to hurt the little guy. He's not evil."

Paige shook her head rolling her eyes in exasperation. Even if Chris did do some stupid things to get what he wanted and lied to them way too many times she never thought that he would do anything to hurt one of the kids. "No, that's not what I'm saying. But Chris is from the future. He should know who took him, shouldn't he?"

Piper wanted to growl in frustration. Chris was the one subject that she was very sore about at that time after everything he had done and all the lies he had told, not to mention the betrayal of her son that had been predicted. But still if he could help them to find her other son…"Chris!!!!" Piper screamed at the top of her lungs hoping that he wouldn't ignore her call out of spite.

* * *

Chris was sitting in complete silence and darkness in the backroom of P3 just waiting. He was still trembling from the nightmare he had just had. The nightmare that had revealed everything to him. The nightmare that told him exactly what he was up against and who was after his brother. But it also told him exactly what had happened to his counterparts the last six times that they had tried to save Wyatt and of the truth behind his betrayal. He also knew today was the day. Somehow deep inside he could feel it. That impending sense of doom that he always felt on the day that Wyatt was taken. He had felt it every time before this and now he knew exactly what it was. Fear, and now he new exactly why it was gripping him so hard. But none of that made any difference now. It was too late to stop what was about to happen. 

Within moments Piper would call him and he'd have to go to them. He knew almost exactly what words they would say. He could recite them himself if he wanted to. For some reason no matter what else he changed in this timeline this one day always remained the same.

So what did that mean for them? If the day remained the same Wyatt would still be taken and his younger self would be doomed to do this all over again. He had to somehow change it. But what could he change that would save Wyatt and still bring the boy safely home? Several moments of contemplating brought him no answers, but then it hit him, the one thing he could do, and the one thing he had to do, no matter what the outcome.

So he sighed deeply realizing his only choice and waited for her voice. The voice he loved more deeply than any other in the world even if in this timeline it only spoke harsh words to him.

"Chris!!!!!" it sounded loudly in his ear and with his insides trembling at what he was soon to do he orbed to the Manor.

As his orbs appeared before them they all started speaking at once and he threw both hands up silencing them all. "I already know everything you are gonna say and normally I'd go ahead and play through this but this time is gonna be different, so just save it."

Piper was shocked to hear him say he knew exactly what was happening. "If you knew this was gonna happen why didn't you stop it?" she asked in suspicion and some anger.

_Maybe because you kicked him out_, Phoebe thought to herself rolling her eyes. Did they even have the right to expect Chris to help them?

But Chris didn't feel that way about it. Whether they knew it or not he would always try to help them if he could, even though at times they didn't realize he was doing so.

"Because, I've tried that before and it made things worse, a lot worse," he answered remembering the one time he had attempted to stop his younger self from being taken. That had been the second worst experience he had ever lived through, only being topped by her eventual death in the future and it still had not stopped Wyatt from being taken. That one time he had tried to change this one occurrence Piper had nearly died in his arms a second time. If not for Leo arriving in time to save her, she would have died a full seven years sooner than she should have and that was something he just couldn't bear to happen.

Piper stared at him for a long moment and could see the almost haunted look in his eyes, so she didn't push it, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to get him to help them anyway. She was about to speak when another set of bright blue and white orbs formed not a few feet from where Chris had just appeared.

"Nothing. The Elders were no help and I tried to sense him from the bridge too," Leo started to speak before his orbs had even completely formed. As he did though, he noticed Chris standing there. "Why is he here?" It was not hard at all to hear the sound of disgust in Leo's voice and even though it might not have been obvious to them Chris couldn't help the slight flinching motion his body made at the sound. In the past few days Leo had went over and over the information they had learned and with each time he thought about it he became angrier and angrier. Chris was going to betray Wyatt. He was the reason that his son would be taken and possibly turned evil. And Leo had trusted him. He had even felt concern for the young man. All being said and done he felt as if he was the one being betrayed.

"Because he knows who took our son and he was just about to tell us," Piper said glaring expectantly at Chris.

Chris looked down steeling himself for what he had to do. "No, no I'm not," he whispered his voice sounding slightly ragged as if he could barely force the words out around the lump that was forming in his throat.

The attic was completely silent for just about two seconds and then Piper and Leo both burst into loud and angry words. "What do you mean, you aren't going to tell us?" Piper shouted angrily. But he did not respond, just as he did not look at her. He couldn't look at her. He was still in so much emotional pain over her throwing him out of the Manor and her anger now was just making it worse and he knew he had to keep his emotions out of this as much as possible or he'd never make it through what he was about to do.

But Leo was not about to just let Chris ignore the question, so he moved forward grabbing Chris by the front of the shirt yanking him forward so their faces were but mere inches apart. "So help me, Chris, if you don't start talking soon, I'm gonna make you wish you really were a Whitelighter." The implication in his words was not hard at all to decipher. Chris was almost positive that Leo would not really kill him but he might make him hurt more than Chris really had the stomach to withstand at the moment, so instead of arguing back he just kept his eyes averted from Leo's and his head down waiting for the first strike he was sure would come.

Phoebe and Paige, though both were angry at Chris' refusal to speak, moved forward to try to separate he and Leo before it came to bloodshed. "Leo, you can't. Stop this," Phoebe called out as she grabbed Leo's arm and tried to pry it from Chris' shirt. In normal everyday life she never felt any emotions coming from Chris but at that very moment all she felt was an overwhelming sense of pain and sadness permeating the room. Normally she would have attributed that feeling to Piper or Leo but not this time. It felt so different than when she felt their emotions. These emotions were more guarded as if the person was trying his hardest to hide them, but it wasn't working this time and she felt the overwhelming urge to cry surrounding her. "Leo, please. You're hurting him." Phoebe wasn't sure what urged her to say that. Leo hadn't actually done anything to physically hurt Chris yet but she still felt pain surrounding her heart and it felt as if it was ripping in two. She was standing right next to them and Chris' eyes were directed away from Leo and just happened to be in her direction and she could tell looking into them that the source of all the pain she felt was right before her and the only urge she had was to stop it before it tore him apart.

Leo just shrugged Phoebe off though and shook Chris even harder his jaw clenched into a hard line as he growled out between clenched teeth. "Not until he talks."

Unnoticed by the adults Wyatt had crept into the room after hearing all of the commotion and was frozen by the sight before him. He had never seen his father physically threaten anyone before and he was even more shocked to see that it was Chris he was threatening. He didn't quite understand what had happened to him that morning. He remembered the conversation he had had with his brother and that they had planned to help Chris in any way they could but then things had become fuzzy for him and the next thing he remembered hours had gone by and he couldn't find his brother anywhere.

"Stop it," he yelled at the top of his lungs. "Let him go, Dad!"

Leo turned at his oldest son's voice and for just a moment it was as if he didn't realize who he was seeing the rage was so intense inside him. But the pleading look on his son's face brought him back to reality and he loosened his grip on Chris letting him go very slowly and then walked over next to his son. "Wyatt you shouldn't be here. We need to talk to Chris about where to find your brother," he said in the calmest voice he could muster.

Wyatt stood stock still for a moment and then shook his head. "I'm not going to leave. This has as much to do with me as it does my brother, doesn't it, Chris?" He looked expectantly towards the time traveler and Chris couldn't help the ironic smile that touched his lips. Wyatt really was too smart for his own good.

"What do you mean, honey," Piper asked stepping forward towards her son.

But Wyatt still hadn't looked away from Chris as he watched the young man closely trying to piece together what he was doing. "Why won't you tell them where my brother is?" he asked locking gazes with Chris. It was a very good question actually, and the fact that Chris refused to tell them made no sense to any of them really. Why would Chris refuse to help their son? He had saved the boy once, why now was he refusing to do so again?

"It's the only thing that I haven't tried yet to save you, Wyatt," Chris answered sadly.

"What do you mean?" Leo asked angrily turning to Chris.

Chris dreaded saying the words but in all reality he had no choice. They needed to know why he was doing what he was before it was too late. "Today is the day, the day that Wyatt is to be taken. The demon that takes him is using your other son's disappearance as a distraction to draw you away from here so he can get to Wyatt," Chris explained.

Piper gasped and Leo swore under his breath at such a despicable act but they both knew that they had to work together to save both of their children. "So what is it going to take to save my sons?" Leo asked reluctantly. He hated to ask Chris after all the anger that had passed between them but he would have done anything to save his son at that point.

Chris knew his next words were gonna go over like yesterday's garbage but he had to say them anyway. "You can't save both of them," he admitted. It was the first time that any version of him had told them that fact but things were gonna be different this time. He would make sure of it.

"What do you mean, we can't save them both?" This time it was Piper and the look on her face was one of pure terror.

"Of course we can save them both. You just have to tell us what happens and we can come up with a plan to save them," Paige insisted.

"That will only work if Leo can be in two places at once," Chris answered. "No, this is the way it has to be. We have to keep Wyatt safe and that means that you have to stay here and protect him and before you ask 'up there' is not really safe from this demon either. He has connections."

Paige just shook her head at the suggestion. "If Leo has to be here to save Wyatt then he'll stay and we'll go get the little guy," she suggested not seeing where Chris was going with this.

Chris knew that idea wouldn't work either. They had tried that before too and it had also nearly cost the Charmed Ones their lives. At the last moment Leo had had to leave to heal Phoebe and Wyatt was taken anyway. But instead of telling them that information he just shook his head and muttered. "Again, tried that. Hope you want to die early."

"Well what haven't we tried?" Piper asked angrily, not liking anything Chris was telling them.

Chris turned and walked across the room so he could have a seat on the couch and just folded his arms over his chest waiting. "This," was all he answered.

Leo felt the rage boiling up inside of him again as he watched the nonchalant way that Chris just took a seat and waited for his son to die. "This, meaning nothing. Meaning we let my son die!" he screamed angrily.

Again Chris flinched at the harsh words and this time Phoebe caught the reaction. Why was he acting as if this didn't affect him when it so apparently did, she wondered. "Chris, what else are you hiding from us? I can feel that there is something seriously bothering you."

Chris scowled at Phoebe and looked down slightly. "Mind your own emotions, Pheebs."

"No, I won't. This is tearing you apart…" she began but he cut her off abruptly.

"You know nothing about me. Now drop it," he said sharply trying to warn her away from the subject that he dreaded most.

Piper didn't care about what Phoebe was empathing from him at the moment though. "How dare you! How dare you walk into my house and lead me to a child that I can't help but fall in love with, only to turn around and sit here as he dies. What gives you the right to decide something like this?"

Chris looked up and faced her for the first time since arriving that night. "It's either this or your other son grows up to be the ruler of all evil in this world. I'm afraid that losing his brother sort of pales to all of the deaths that Wyatt will cause in the future. Thousands upon thousands, Piper! This is just how it has to be."

Wyatt had been listening and the words shook him to his very core but still he wasn't that person yet and he wasn't about to become him no matter what happened. "Chris. That won't happen. I won't become that. Please just tell us."

"Wyatt, I'm sorry but I just can't risk it. You aren't strong enough to resist this demon and your new power won't help you either." Chris hated to crush Wyatt's faith in himself, but he had to know that there just wasn't any other choice in the matter.

Leo had been listening and trying to keep his anger at bay. If he could only figure this out, he knew there had to be some way to save his sons, both of them. "Chris, don't you realize what you are asking us to do? You want us to choose one son over the other. We can't do that. We have to try to save them both."

"No, Leo, what you don't realize is that I'm making it so you don't have to choose. I'm taking the decision away from you. I'm making it easy on you," Chris explained knowing he would never be thanked for doing this but never expected it anyway.

Piper snorted never even slightly believing that Chris was doing any of this for them. "Why is it your choice anyway, damnit? He's our son. What gives you the right to decide whether he lives or dies?" Piper bit out angrily, her hands rising in a threatening gesture. If she had to she'd use the threat of bodily injury or death to get him to speak.

Chris wasn't exactly sure what to say to that. What could he say? But her threat would do no good. It would just rush the inevitable anyway and at least if she were to kill him none of them would ever realize that he was their son. Maybe that way would be the best way after all. So with that thought he didn't even bother to answer as he waited to die either way.

But again the adults were interrupted by a younger voice. "Chris, I know this is your right and I know why," Wyatt said softly. "But you promised me. Please don't break that promise."

Chris looked sharply to Wyatt and could see his own secret written plainly across the young face. "But how …" How did he know?

"He told me," Wyatt answered with a small quirky smile thinking about how shocked he had been on that day. It had taken him some time but just that morning he had accepted the fact that his little brother and Chris were one and the same. He also remembered that he had promised his little brother that he would keep Chris' secret but hadn't Chris promised him something also. "But you promised me too. You told me that he would grow up to be the best brother I could ever hope for and he would do anything for me."

Chris blinked back tears at that statement and nodded. "I didn't lie, Wyatt. He would do anything for you, including die for you. That's why I know this has to happen this way."

"What the hell are you two talking about?" Piper asked in confusion at what seemed an almost private conversation between them.

Wyatt opened his mouth to speak and he planned to tell them all of it, no matter what Chris said and Chris sat shaking his head side to side praying that Wyatt would just keep his mouth shut. "Wyatt, please. It will only make it worse for them. You don't want to hurt them do you?"

But Wyatt wasn't paying attention to either of them as he quirked his head to the side as if hearing something. A small smile formed on his lips and he looked up at Chris and shook his head. "Don't tell them if you don't want to. You don't have to." With that he orbed away leaving several shocked adults behind.

"Wyatt," several voices screamed at once. Neither Leo nor Paige could sense where Wyatt had orbed to and they all looked to Chris hoping he had foreseen this coming but the shocked look on his face told that he hadn't. He too had heard the silent plea from his younger self for his brother to come and save him but he had never dreamed that Wyatt would be able to hear it too, not this young at least.

"That little. He can sense him," he said standing and going into action. "Follow my orb trail. He's orbing right into danger." With that he orbed himself to exactly where both boys now were.

* * *

_A/N: Oh yes, I know. Horrible cliffie there but I couldn't help myself. And yes I know, lots of stuff to digest in that chapter too. Some questions raised. What exactly did Chris see in that nightmare? You'll find out soon, I promise. Anyhow, comments? Questions? As a warning, I've been sick for the last few days and am not sure how fast I'll update again. Hopefully soon._


	13. I Made A Promise

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N:** Wow, everyone really seemed to enjoy that last chapter. I love that. I just hope everyone likes this one as well. It's not gonna be a pleasant one, for sure.

* * *

**Chapter 13: I Made a Promise**

Once he appeared he stared around the underground chamber and felt fear piercing every inch of his soul. He could see the Necromancer standing next to a stone table and little Chris was kneeling on the table in front of him with an Athame to his throat. The small child was crying and to Chris' astonishment was calling for his brother to save him. This wasn't at all how things had happened the last six times. He shouldn't be talking to anyone yet.

Wyatt was standing in the middle of the room with his shield up surrounded by dozens of undead beings. He had nowhere to turn and couldn't move any further forward towards his little brother with the undead beings pressing in on his shield. They could not breach it but the sheer mass of them were holding Wyatt back anyway.

Chris felt as if his legs were paralyzed by the sight. This was the stuff of his nightmares and something that he found almost impossible to face no matter how much he tried to convince himself otherwise.

The others orbed in behind him and he heard gasps from all three of the women. Piper immediately threw her hands up to blast the undead creatures surrounding her oldest son but was stopped by the Necromancer's voice. "Ah, ah, ah. If you want your son to live, you'll leave my pets alone." She stared at the demon that she thought she had vanquished weeks ago and saw the deadly look in his eyes and the terrified look in her youngest son's face. Those two things combined forced her to lower her hands slowly. She could hear the pitiful crying coming from her youngest son as he was forced to live out the worst scenario imaginable to his young mind and it threatened to rip her heart apart. "Much better. My master told me to expect the Charmed Ones and their pet Elder, but he never mentioned a boy and a Whitelighter. Never figured him to get anything like this wrong, but what does it matter if I eventually get all your corpses anyway?"

"Fat chance, demon scum," Paige called out.

Chris finally managed to find his voice again after hearing his aunt's sarcastic quip. It reminded him of the fact that he was no longer a child and far from helpless at the time. "He's right about one thing. This has never happened before," he said only loud enough for those behind him to hear him.

"What hasn't?" Piper asked also lowering her voice.

"Wyatt orbing down here. I gave him a little push to try to keep the sibling rivalry down a bit when the kid first showed up. I guess he was able to form a bond with his brother quicker this time than he ever did before. That must be why he could sense him when none of you could." Chris was explaining what had happened to them as he figured it out himself a little surprised that he hadn't ever thought to take Wyatt to little Chris. It was iffy and dangerous but there was actually a possibility that they could save both of them at least.

"Did he say his Master?" Leo asked looking nervously at the undead creatures that surrounded his son. He knew that Wyatt was safe for the time being at least, but they were still at a standstill in regards to his youngest son. "He's not the one orchestrating this?"

"No, I wish he was. He's a lot easier to vanquish than his Master is." With that Chris turned halfway around knowing that they wouldn't let any of the undead attack him while his back was turned. He'd have to tell them about Barbas no matter how much the thought of the foul demon disturbed him and he wanted to see their reactions to the revelation himself to gauge whether or not the sisters would be able to face the Demon of Fear again.

"Yeah, I don't think that's such a good thing, Chris," Phoebe said still looking at him in some worry. She couldn't shake the feeling that something horrible was gonna happen to him very soon. Actually sooner than she'd ever dreamed though.

Just as Chris opened his mouth to mention the name of the Demon of Fear, the demon himself appeared directly behind him. "No need to introduce me, Christopher, I'll do it for you." With those words Barbas thrust an Athame into Chris' back and then pulled it out as he stepped backwards pushing Chris forward towards the group gathered there.

"Chris!!!" Phoebe screamed feeling the pain coursing through her body as Chris stumbled forward a look of anguished shock on his face.

Leo and Piper each grabbed one side of him as his knees began to buckle. They all three sunk to the floor and Leo turned Chris over so he was facing up, leaning back against Piper and as she pulled her hand out from under him it was covered in bright red blood. "Oh my god, Leo. Hurry. Heal him," Piper said panic in her voice. She had seen the young Witchlighter injured before and never had such a fearful reaction but something about his blood staining her hands made it seem all the more real and frightening and the fact that his attacker was Barbas actually made the fear press in so much more on her, not because Barbas was causing it but because of the fact that she had nearly lost two of her sisters to that particular demon before.

Barbas had backed away a few feet further and was admiring the Athame clenched in his hand and the way the firelight in the cavern made the blood on the blade shimmer before him. "Go ahead and try to heal him, Elder, but I'm afraid it will do you no good. Myself and one of your own, who shall remain nameless at this time, have jointly blessed this blade. I have been holding onto it for seven long years now waiting for this moment knowing it would come. I was actually quite surprised to see that it would take place here instead of at your home but logistics matter little to me as long as the outcome remains the same, as it always has."

Even through the pain Chris was suffering the demon's words still reached his clouded mind. "How do you know what has happened before?" he breathed out through clenched teeth even as Leo tried and failed to heal his wound.

"Ah, silly boy, did you think your nightmares these past weeks were just horrible childhood memories brought to light by them finding the young lad? Not quite. I must say that the quality of fear in your night terrors is way above what I am used to from pitiful humans and the average everyday witch. My feedings have been way above par recently and for that I must thank you," The look of complete gluttonous pleasure upon the demon's face disgusted them all. "But imagine to my surprise to find visions of the future and of the past six times that your counterparts have come to this time. You are an open book to me, young one. I know everything there is to know about you. Your secrets, your fears, which ironically go hand in hand. Honestly I know more about you than you even do yourself. Even that little nightmare you had this morning. Even though I have to admit that one was pulled from another source. The Seer really can be of use when the right motivation is used."

The Seer? Now it made sense. Why hadn't Chris realized that she was working for the demon? If Chris was honest with himself he would have to admit that the demon's words did not surprise him whatsoever. He had halfway been suspicious of the nightmares himself but that no longer made any difference. All that mattered was getting Wyatt away from the demon before he could take him from them.

The others though were thinking about the demon's words. They all knew that Chris had been suffering from nightmares for weeks now but none had known exactly how they could stop them and honestly they hadn't actually tried to help him with them anyway and that fact made them all feel just a little bit guilty at their actions. Nightmares brought on by the Demon of Fear were more dangerous than most of them could ever imagine.

But Phoebe had caught onto something else that was said. "Wait, counterparts, what does that mean?"

Chris swallowed a little harder, but did not answer. But Barbas wasn't going to let it go at that. "Oh, I'm sorry. He didn't tell you, did he? The other six versions of him that have traveled to this time before he did, that is. The ones that failed your son. He had to make up for their mistakes now didn't he? Someone had to be responsible for their actions now didn't they?"

All three of the sisters looked questioningly at Chris. "You mean it wasn't you that came back before. Just some other version of you, but how?" Paige asked feeling a little guilty about everything they had accused him of.

Chris knew he had to answer that or Barbas would find a way to twist the situation to his own advantage. "Each of the last six times that a Chris Perry has come back through time there was always a younger version of him out there somewhere who was sharing his magic, his emotions, and his memories with him." Chris had to pause as his breathing became more labored by his injury. He knew his time would soon be running out. "So that younger version always grows up and does the same as the one before. He travels through time and tries to save Wyatt. And each time he has failed. Last time around I was that younger version, and I saw it all happening, so I've done what I was destined to do."

"And the vision of you betraying Wyatt… was that version not actually you," Piper asked realizing that they had probably placed the blame on the wrong person.

Chris was about to answer that but Barbas interrupted his words. "Ah, but only Chris and I know the true answer to that question, but I think it's for the best that it stays between you and me." Barbas really didn't want them to forgive him. It was so much better when they hated him.

Leo wondered what that was supposed to mean. "Or was the vision of something that was to come. Something that was changed when Wyatt decided to orb down here?" He was not quite yet ready to let go of the anger he felt for Chris. But he had also caught onto another part of the demon's previous statement that did surprise him. "Did you say that an Elder was involved with this plan of yours? If you did, I'm afraid you've lost any belief you might have been trying to gain from me."

Piper and Chris both snorted at that statement and the sound surprised Leo, as they sounded so similar to each other. He looked to Piper and she adopted a defensive look. "What? Elders aren't perfect."

"Amen to that," Chris bit out under his breath still clenching his teeth as he attempted to force back the pain.

"Believe what you wish, Elder. It matters little now anyway. The Elder that was involved has left us for parts unknown," Barbas answered offhandedly.

Piper honestly had had enough of all of this. "What will it take for us to walk away from here with both our sons intact and Chris healed?" she asked ready to make a deal with the devil himself if she had to. Chris turned his head slightly so he could see Piper's face surprised that she had actually included him in that statement. He couldn't help the feeling of elation he felt knowing that she would actually care enough to try to save him too, but he squashed the feeling as fast as it had appeared knowing that he couldn't let himself get caught up in his feelings for her. That was one thing that at the moment he was very tempted to do. He was dying and he knew there was nothing stopping that fact but the feel of her strong arms wrapped around him and the smell of the lilac soap she always used brought back too many memories of better times gone by and he wished that his last moments on earth could be spent reveling in these simple things that meant more to him than anything else he could ever imagine.

But he wouldn't be allowed any such thing as he heard Barbas' voice echo through the chamber again. "Ah, alas, you can't have it both ways I fear. As far as the two youngsters go it seems as if it will have to be one or the other. You must choose the lesser of two evils. On one hand an evil son to fear or on the other hand a dead son to mourn. As far as this one, well I'm afraid his time on this earth is limited no matter what any of you do?"

Piper's face turned pale at his words and she stared at both her sons and knew she could never make that kind of decision, and then she looked down to Chris, who didn't even flinch at the words that pronounced his own death. He had told them that he was trying to take the decision out of their hands and part of her wanted to thank him for the act for one second. She hadn't realized how horrible it would feel to actually have that decision set before her. "I can't decide," she whispered pain coursing though her heart.

Chris looked away from those pain filled eyes and sought Leo's. He could see the wheels turning in the Elder's head as he tried to figure a plan of action out. But then Leo opened his mouth and the words he spoke came out as a growl. "I won't doom either of my sons to your sick deeds."

Chris wanted to smile at that statement. How ironic it was that this one time around, that Leo had managed to come to love his younger self just as much as he did his own biological son, was also the time that he hated the grown version of Chris the most. How completely and utterly unfair it was, but it was as it was and there was no turning back now. "There is a third… choice," Chris said stuttering from the pain and weakness he felt.

Leo looked to him and Chris continued softly. "An enraged Elder… can sometimes be even more… deadly than a Charmed One."

Leo looked down at the young man slowly dying before him and understood his words and what they meant. Elders were gifted with a power that Leo hadn't even once tapped into before but he knew of it. It was destructive and devastating to any being they used it upon, whether human, witch, or demon. But in his understanding the power was set off by strong angry emotions, emotions that were normally not displayed by typical pacifistic Elders and Leo wasn't even sure he would be able to use them.

But Chris knew. He had seen Leo use the power in his memories of other trips to this timeline. The Elder had been forced to use it to save the sisters and the younger child from the undead beings that were now before them in every time before that he had traveled back. "You have it in you," he whispered praying that Leo would believe him. "Just draw on… the fear of losing your son... Get angry."

"Ah, is the hero trying to convince you to use your powers on me, Elder?" Barbas asked his voice full of fake pity. "I must commend him for facing death so bravely. Personally I would have preferred crying and begging for mercy, but I will be satisfied as long as he perishes."

Leo listened to the harsh uncaring words of the demon and felt the anger billowing inside him as if it were a flame fed by pure turpentine. "Do you want to die today, Monster?"

Barbas howled in laughter at that. "I know the hero is willing to sacrifice your son for his cause but I didn't think you'd go for it so readily," he answered once the laughter had died some.

Leo looked to his youngest son and felt as if ice water flowed through his veins as he deflated not prepared at all to risk the young life he had grown to love so dearly. He looked down to Chris and shook his head. "I can't," he whispered almost apologetically.

Chris sagged realizing that he could never force Leo to cooperate with his plan and yet again all was lost. He would once again be doomed to repeat this life to save his brother and more than likely he would again find himself dying, afraid and feeling alone among those that he loved most in the world. He wasn't sure he could do this again though. It became so much harder each time. Was there no way to salvage any of it? He had to try. "You have too… Wyatt's more important… You have to save him… Forget the other one. He doesn't really matter." Chris couldn't look at his younger self as he said those words. It was hard enough to feel the pain and betrayal that they caused across the mental link that they shared without seeing that look upon his face.

Another pitiful cry came from the stone table and Chris found himself wishing that his younger self had never uttered a sound. He was not making this easy on them at all.

Leo heard the cry though and it caused his heart to constrict as he imagined losing the son that had made that sound. He shook his head. "I can't forget him, Chris. He means too much to me," Leo said as tears started to stream from his eyes.

Chris saw this and it hurt even more to see his father showing emotions for the child that would someday become him. Everything Chris had wanted for his younger self was coming to him in spades this time around but now was the wrong time for it. Now when he needed his father not to care for him was when he showed the most heartfelt emotions. He had to stop this. He had to focus Leo on Wyatt. So he gathered all the strength and courage he had left to speak without stuttering and put as much force in his words as he possibly could. "He's not even your child, Leo. He's just a stray that your wife picked up in the underworld. Your real son needs you to be strong and save him."

Angry words started flying around the cavern from all directions. "He is not a stray," Piper said nearly angry enough to drop Chris where he was but she refrained knowing the damage it could cause.

"Chris, please, you don't mean that," Phoebe called sinking against the wall behind her feeling the weight of emotions crushing against her from all sides.

Paige shook her head at the notion that the younger boy didn't mean anything to them. "He means the world to us, Chris. You can't be serious."

"You're wrong, Chris. He's just as much my son as Wyatt is," Leo said softly almost to himself.

Barbas gleefully listened to all of the comments and decided that it was time to bring the fear in the room up another notch. "Ah, Christopher, me thinks your ploy to convince them to sacrifice one for the other just isn't working out so well. I could help you with that though. Do you think they'd be more willing if they truly knew who he is and who he is to become?"

Chris had still been reeling from the effort it had taken to speak before but Barbas' words brought his full attention back to the present. "Shut up, demon," he hissed.

"Ah, then again, they might just see him in a different light if they know that he will eventually die anyway to save his brother no matter what the outcome of today might be," Barbas said again instilling false pity into his words.

Piper's hand flew to her mouth as a sob escaped it at the demon's words. Was her son truly doomed to die no matter what they did to save him? "No, no, no!" she called out her voice almost choked with sobs.

"You bastard, stop this!" Chris said raising his voice and trying to sit up no matter how weak he felt. The demon was so close to revealing everything to them and Chris felt his heart clenching in fear of that ever happening. "Leave it alone."

Barbas just cackled at the display before him. "Ah, now your greatest fear comes to light, doesn't it, boy? I would think that out of all the horrors you have seen and experienced in your young life that this secret you keep would hold very little sway in the arena of fears. But not for you. No, them learning your secret holds more fear for you than all the monsters in the world. And with your fear you feed me. I can feel it pouring from you like a waterfall."

Chris sat helplessly surrounded by the fear that the demon was permeating him with. Barbas was right. No matter what he faced in his life the idea of facing them with the knowledge that he was their son was more frightening to him than any demon or undead being could ever imagine being. Every part of him felt secretly that if they knew who he truly was everything would fall apart. It would affect every aspect of his younger self's future, and he feared how devastating it would be for him. Chris' greatest fear was that they eventually would learn to see him as the young man they had all come to hate in this timeline and that would lead to the future rejection of a child that they all claimed to love in this time. And rather than face that possibility, Chris would take death over it any day for both he and his younger counterpart.

Wyatt couldn't believe Chris was doing this. He was trying everything in his power to doom his own existence but he wasn't about to let it happen no matter how hard Chris might be pushing things in that direction. No matter what he had to do he'd be leaving the underworld that day with his little brother. So knowing that the demons were distracted by the conversation happening behind him Wyatt quickly dropped his shield and then orbed behind the Necromancer. The sound of twinkling orbs though caught the attention of everyone in the room and all eyes were drawn to him, including the Demon of Fear's.

The Necromancer didn't realize where the child had gone to though, which turned out to be his one fatal flaw as Wyatt used the new power he had discovered not so long ago blinking his eyes and then watched as the demon before him burst into flames.

Barbas saw his opportunity though and his form began to flame to the other side of the room to grab the child he wanted.

"Leo, now!" Chris called seeing their chance to end this. Leo's hands flew up automatically with the rage and fear he felt fueling his need to protect his children. Bright streaks of electricity flew from his hands striking the demon before he could fully flame out and knocking him to the floor.

"Wyatt, take your brother home," Piper called seeing their opportunity to flee.

The undead creatures surrounding them, lost without their master, began to push in towards them ready to strike. Piper's hands flew up as she started to blast the creatures to bits as she watched in relief as her oldest son grabbed his little brother's hand and they orbed away. The other two sisters struck out also destroying more of the creatures that seemed aimlessly lost.

Chris watched as the events unfolded before him. He had no strength left to help defend them and shortly after Wyatt and little Chris orbed away he slid sideways to the floor next to where Piper was kneeling and closed his eyes waiting for it to all be over.

Piper had her hands full and was unable to catch Chris as his body slumped to the floor but she knew that he had very little time left and they needed to get him out of there. "Leo, we have to get Chris back to the Manor," she called to her husband as he continuously struck the demon with his electric attack.

Leo lost his concentration for only a moment as he glanced at Chris and Barbas took the opportunity to flame his damaged body away from there and to his own underground lair, which to Leo's dismay was sense proof. Leo cursed bitterly that he hadn't been able to finish the demon off but realized that they had much greater concerns at the moment so he bent placing one hand on Piper and the other on Chris and orbed them away from the cavern and into the Manor's attic.

Wyatt and his brother stood to one side and they could see that Wyatt had erected his shield around them both and that the younger one was wrapped in his brother's arms and was crying on his shoulder. "It's okay now. They'll fix everything. I promise," Wyatt was whispering to the distraught child.

Leo reached down and picked Chris' unmoving body up and laid him on the couch rolling him over to see the wound on his back. His hands reached out again trying to use his healing touch. After several seconds of nothing the wound began to slowly heal, too slowly for Leo's liking though.

Paige and Phoebe also had orbed in right behind them and were watching in fear as Leo's brow furrowed in worry. The wound itself healed but left behind an angry red welt that was inflamed and hot to the touch. Chris moaned as Leo rolled him to his side so the wound wouldn't touch anything and he could face them. "Chris, the wound healed but something is still very wrong about it," Leo said placing one hand on the young man's forehead and pulled it back as if the heat he felt burned his very skin.

Piper crossed over to her sons and after Wyatt lowered his shield she gathered both of them into her arms as she tried to sooth her youngest son's tears. "Mommy, I don't want to die," the young boy said clinging to his mother as the sobs wracked his body.

Piper sucked in her breath for the first time hearing her son utter real words. And what words those were. She wanted to cry right along with him but knew she had to reassure him. "You aren't gonna die, Peanut. I promise you. We are going to keep you as close to us as possible and you'll be safe from now on."

This did not seem to allay the young boy's sobs though and he grasped her even tighter as he buried his face in her hair. Wyatt knew that his brother wasn't actually referring to himself. The link between both younger and older versions of him was causing the boy a lot of confusion as he felt his older self slipping away from them and it felt as if it was he who was dying. But now that Wyatt had his little brother back he wasn't so quick to reveal any of this to them. He had after all promised him that he would keep the secret as long as the older version of Chris was in their time. So instead of speaking he just wrapped his arms around his little brother and his mother and prayed that they somehow could fix what was wrong with the older Chris.

Chris could see what his pain was doing to his younger self and he desperately forced a barrier down on the link between them, not wanting the child to experience what was happening to him. He then realized that every time in the past when he had traveled back in time they had shared the same link and every time he had shut it down so his younger self would not remember. That was why he never could remember which demon had taken Wyatt. This time around though, Barbas had given him those memories back in the form of a nightmare using the Seer's visions to do so. This time he wondered if he had waited too long to severe the link between he and little Chris. His younger self had seen so much and would remember so much. Maybe too much. But he couldn't change that now. All he really had left to do was to die. But just maybe this time Wyatt would not turn evil and there would be no need for his younger self to come back and save them. Wasn't it all worth it if that was the case? Leo was talking to him but somehow he seemed so far away but Chris knew he had to respond. "Athame, cursed," he whispered not feeling up to saying anymore.

"I know that, Chris. But how do I break the curse?" Leo asked hoping that somehow Chris would know.

Chris' face shifted so he could look at Leo and for one moment he thought he saw a flicker of real concern there but he knew he had to be imagining it. "Can't," he finally answered and let his eyes again settle on the vision of his mother holding his younger self, comforting the small child as she had done with him so many times in his past. He sighed deeply wishing for a moment that he were that child again.

Phoebe sunk to her knees before him and reached out one hand taking his. His skin was so warm to the touch as the fever of the cursed wound raged through his body. "Chris, did this ever happen in any of your other times here?If so you'd know how we broke it before woudn't you?"

Chris reluctantly turned his head away from the vision he had been memorizing and looked at his empathic aunt. Did it really matter? They didn't know that it was a useless effort. Only he knew what it was like to die like this over and over again but would telling them that make any difference? No, he was dead no matter what they did, so just shook his head not bothering to answer her.

Paige too kneeled next to her sister where Chris could see her. "Chris, come on. We really do want to try to help you. None of want to see you dead."

He had to smile slightly at that statement. It was nice to know that your family didn't really want you dead. He was tempted to say something sarcastic but that would take too much effort so instead he just shook his head slightly but was surprised to feel a single tear cascading down his cheek and fall to the couch where his face rested. He had wanted to be strong in front of them and face this with dignity but apparently his heart was not keeping with his mind's plan on the matter.

"Chris, none of this martyr stuff okay? If you know something you need to tell us so you can be saved." Leo was pretty sure that Chris knew something else. The conversation between he had Barbas might have been cryptic but he could tell that the two of them shared information that the others did not. "I know you don't want to die. What's the use coming to the past to change the future if you can't enjoy the future you've saved?"

Chris thought about that question for a moment but could only come up with one answer. "That doesn't really matter, Leo. I had to," he responded quietly again staring at the group across the room from him. "I made a promise." His voice had the quality of someone who was lost to some other place or time and it frightened those around him.

Wyatt stared across the room at him and felt the tears pricking his own eyes knowing exactly what promise he was speaking of. Chris would do anything for him including die for him. The last of his nagging doubts as to whether Chris was his brother of the future were swiped away with those words and he felt for the first time how it must feel to be losing someone you loved. For just as he loved his little brother he cared just as deeply for his older counterpart, who was willing to give up everything for him. Silent tears began to stream down his face and he pulled away from his mother ready to go be with his brother during his last moments alive but a bright light caught his attention and he turned to see a large Triquetra symbol glowing blue on the wall of the attic.

All eyes were drawn to the portal as it opened and a young man stepped from inside it. Chris couldn't help but blink a few times, not believing what he was seeing. He was almost positive that his foggy mind was playing tricks on him and he dare not believe it could be true.

"Who are you?" Piper asked, immediately on the defensive placing herself between the newcomer and her two sons.

But Wyatt pushed his way around her and stared in awe at the young man. "It's okay, Mom. That's just me."

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_A/N: Okay yeah, did it again. Cliffhanger from hell. So anyone see that last bit coming? Hope not. I try not to be obvious with where I'm going with these stories. But it's hard to find something original in a genre where almost everything has already been imagined. So what do we all think now?_


	14. Love and Hate

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N:** Um, Wow. I've never had reviews quite that demanding before. I must agree with everyone who said that I am evil though. I admit it. My username says it and my profile suggests it. But I do have a good side to. That being said the next chapter is up super fast for all of you to enjoy. Even though it will probably get me called evil just as easily.

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**Chapter 14 Love and Hate**

Piper looked quickly to her oldest son and back to the newcomer and had to admit that they did share the same color eyes and his hair was only just slightly darker. It wouldn't be hard to pick out the features of the grown man in the son that she adored. But she knew that it could be a trap. "How do you know?" she asked her son in worry as Leo also moved forward next to his family ready to protect them from anything. Phoebe and Paige also stood guard near Chris not sure what to make of this new development.

The young time traveler shook his head at this. "Always so suspicious. Because there is a link between us. We sense each other, now if you don't mind, we don't have a whole lot of time." With that he sidestepped the little family and went straight to Chris' side, pushing past both Phoebe and Paige who seemed almost dumbstruck by what he was doing. Once he reached him he kneeled on the floor beside the couch and placed one hand on his shoulder softly. "Hey, you still with us, Kiddo?"

Chris stared up into his older brother's eyes and took in his appearance. His blonde hair was neatly trimmed and his almost boyish face was clean-shaven and the look of innocent concern in his eyes made Chris want to shout in glee. It had worked. It had really worked. The single tear that he had shed earlier was now joined with many more as a deep sense of relief infused his entire soul and his body began to shake with the pent up emotion that he had been holding in for so many months now.

Wyatt could both see and sense the inner tempest within his brother. It was almost too much emotion for the older sibling to accept but after years of sharing a mental link with the Chris he had grown up with, who had often times been engulfed in painful emotions, Wyatt was able to withstand. And with this new bout of emotions all of Chris' normal barriers fell, as he was no longer able to sustain them.

With that Phoebe sunk to the floor grasping the sides of her head crying out in pain. Paige and Piper both rushed to her side not sure what was happening to her, neither of them taking all of their attention away from the scene between Older Wyatt and Chris.

Wyatt turned to see the distress his aunt was in and suggested the only thing he new would help her. "Paige, you've gotta orb her out of here. The emotions that she's channeling are too much for her to take."

Paige seemed hesitant to do this but Piper nodded to her letting her know silently that they could handle everything. So reluctantly Paige took them away from there.

Piper stood and walked forward with Leo next to her as they stood just a few feet from the young man that their son would apparently grow into. Neither of them could see anything that might lead them to believe that he was evil but looks could be deceiving.

Wyatt looked up to them and he had a pleading look about his face. "We need to work fast if we are gonna save Chris."

"I'm sort of confused here," Piper said staring at the two of them. "Are you the evil Wyatt that Chris told us about?" She hated to ask the question but ever skeptical, she had to know the truth.

Wyatt's eyes widened and a hurt look covered his face but Chris answered for him. "No… this Wyatt… very different." His voice broke again as he spoke, as he grew weaker every time he tried.

"So it worked. The future is really changed?" Leo asked as a sense of relief washed over him.

"What part of we have to work fast do you two not understand?" Wyatt asked in exasperation ignoring his father's question.

Chris couldn't help the weak laugh that wracked his body with pain. "Give up, Wyatt… Their suspicions… have to be allayed… before you'll get…" His words broke off this time, as he was not able to voice them anymore.

Wyatt turned to his younger brother and snorted in derision. "I don't give a damn about their suspicions. You saved me, Chris, and now it's my turn to save you, but I need Dad to help me with that." He turned to Leo with an expectant look on his face.

Leo was now sure that this version of his son was not evil. If he were he wouldn't be begging them to help him save Chris. But hadn't Chris betrayed them in a way? "Wyatt, I understand that you feel you owe Chris for coming back and keeping you from turning evil but he was willing to sacrifice your younger brother to do it. I'm all for trying to save him if we can, but there are still some things that we need to take into consideration. You have to understand that neither of us knows why you'd be this concerned over someone who was willing to watch your brother die. You have to admit that it looks a little suspicious."

Wyatt was about to make a harsh retort but Chris reached out squeezing his arm begging him to think before he spoke. Wyatt looked down to Chris and could see the pleading in his eyes combined with the pain his body was suffering. "Dang it, Chris," he muttered under his breath and then turned back to them. "Listen, Dad, you need to kill Barbas. That's the only way to break this curse. The Elder that blessed the athame died seven years ago today, ironically. Both of them have to be dead for the curse to be broken. Then you can heal Chris. I'd do it myself but right now I'm sharing my younger version's powers and they aren't anywhere near strong enough to kill Barbas."

Leo's eyes widened at that. "Wyatt, I was in a complete rage earlier in the cave when I used that power. I can't just turn it on at will. I'm upset that Chris is dying but it's nothing compared to the feelings I felt when you and your brother were in danger. I don't know if it will even work. I want to save Chris, but I'm just not sure if I can do it again."

Wyatt again turned to Chris, this time his eyes holding that pleading look. Begging his brother to release him from a sixteen year old promise that he had made. "Chris, please!" he said his voice full of emotion.

"No, Wyatt… Just let it be," Chris whispered. It was enough for him to just have his brother there with him until he died knowing that he was good and that he truly did love him, but he couldn't stand the thought of them knowing who he was. What if it didn't matter even if they did know? What if Leo didn't really care enough to kill Barbas? The Leo he had grown up with wouldn't have cared enough. As a matter of fact he had never killed Barbas in the last six times that Chris had visited the past. Would this version of his father be any different? And if he couldn't how much more pain would that bring to Chris? Over the past few weeks Chris had watched the bond form between his younger self and Leo and part of him had been extremely jealous over the fact but another part of him had secretly enjoyed the fact that Leo could care for him. He couldn't bear the thought that it could all be a lie.

"Let it be! Damn you, Chris," Wyatt raised his voice pulling his arm from where his brother grasped it. "Don't you understand what you are doing to this family? Your version of the future was very different than mine is. You don't know what is gonna happen, but I do."

Chris flinched at the harsh words but his brother had gained his full attention with them. No, he couldn't know what would happen to them now, other than the fact that Wyatt was good. "What?" he whispered.

"If I just drop it and go back to my own time you are gonna lay there for the next three hours suffering excruciating pain until you finally drown in your own blood. It's a horrible death, Chris. I know. I saw it. My younger self refused to leave. And then with you dead those two small children, free from the promises they made will reveal all of your secrets. This family is gonna be devastated. Oh and that's not all either. Since Dad is going to wait too long to go find Barbas, by the time he finds his lair he'll manage to slip away and it's gonna take the next six years of him constantly searching to find Barbas and kill him. By then, those two will be teenagers and though they will still love their father, neither of them will hardly know him anymore. The family will basically be torn apart all because you are playing martyr right now. That's the future you are creating for us. Do you really want to see this family ripped apart?" Wyatt had started crying as he described the future he had come from and Chris was slightly taken back by the lengths his father would go to in his quest to find the demon that had killed his son, not just his son but him personally. Chris reached out his hand again grasping Wyatt's arm trying to offer him some comfort from the life he had created.

Leo hearing his son's words looked to the two small children on the other side of the room concerned for their future and was struck by the way the younger child was clinging to his older brother's arm, the same way that Chris was clinging to Wyatt and his eyes widened as he truly compared the children to the two young men before him. It had been so easy to see Wyatt's features in the older version that had come through the portal, but only after he had claimed to be their son. But now looking at his youngest son he could see similarities between he and Chris. That dark brown hair that he had thought looked so much like Piper's even though he really wasn't her own son. Those crystal green eyes that were so expressive and it hadn't been but a few days since they learned that Chris was truly a Witchlighter, just like his youngest son. There were too many coincidences to ignore them.

He looked back to Chris and a disturbing thought struck him. Chris had been willing to let the young boy die to save Wyatt and he had said that Wyatt's brother would do anything for him, including die for him. Then Barbas had said that Wyatt's little brother was destined to die for him. He suddenly felt as if the world was gonna come crashing down around him as he looked at the young man that he was sure his son would grow up to be. "Oh my god, Chris!" he said unable to hold back the emotions that were swamping him as he grabbed a hold of the arm of the couch that was nearest to him trying to keep himself upright as he felt his legs turn to jelly beneath him.

Piper turned to Leo grabbing his arm as she noticed the stress he seemed to be in. She hadn't yet come to understand what Wyatt was getting at but she figured that Leo had. "What is it, Leo?"

Wyatt saw the way his father swayed on his feet and was positive that he had gotten through to him. Now he just needed to convince Chris to admit it himself. "Chris, please. Let's end the secrets and give Dad the motivation he needs to kill that bastard of a demon."

Chris hadn't really noticed his father's movements or even the words that he had said. He was too wrapped up in the description of the future that Wyatt had laid out before him. "Your future… it's sad… but everyone's alive… and you're good," Chris tried to say in between choked breaths. "Might change… be worse."

Leo felt his heart constrict. Chris was so afraid of making things worse that he'd die before he'd tell them the truth. Piper was still staring at him in concern but he just shook his head at her and stood straight gathering the strength he'd need. "Wyatt, where is Barbas' lair? You said I eventually found it in you future." Leo decided to have faith in the thought that Chris was his son and he'd do what needed done to save him even if Chris himself was against it.

Wyatt turned again to his father and Chris even managed to turn his head. They could both see grim determination in his eyes and Wyatt was more than pleased to see it. "You'll need Phoebe and Paige to show you where the Necromancer's lair is. Barbas' lair is only four passages west of it."

Chris began to speak, wanting to tell Leo not to do it, to leave things as they were, but instead Leo orbed away as Chris' words faded away to nothing. Chris turned back to Wyatt and his head shook slightly. "What have you done, Wyatt?"

Wyatt just gave him a tight smile knowing that he couldn't say what he really wanted with Piper in the room. But as if she had sensed his need to be alone with Chris she turned to her two younger sons and ushered them out of the attic and to their own room. For some odd reason she felt that the two young men needed time to talk with each other and she had a lot of thinking to do. The children didn't really want to leave but Wyatt knew that he would be able to sense what was happening through his older self so he reluctantly agreed with his mother and obediently led his still distraught little brother out of the room.

Once they were gone Wyatt turned back to his brother. "I'd do anything for you too, Chris."

Chris seemed as if he wanted to speak but a coughing fit struck him instead and he turned his face into the couch. Once the coughing was over and he pulled his head back up Wyatt could see blood staining the couch where he had coughed. He reached out then and held his hands over Chris' chest letting the small amount of healing power that he shared with his younger self, light up his hands and Chris' chest. He knew he couldn't heal Chris but he hoped that maybe he could stave off the end if he tried hard enough. The healing did seem to have some affect as Chris seemed to breath a little bit easier and his words came out smoother. "Thank you, but I'm not the little brother you grew up with. You aren't helping him by trying to save me. You understand that, don't you?"

"It's not him that I want to save, Chris. He's fine. I love him more than life. But you have to remember that I am that eight year old little boy who just left this room. That little boy spent months looking up to and idolizing an awesome Whitelighter, then found out that that Whitelighter was actually his Witchlighter brother. But this great brother that he was beginning to truly care for went and did something stupid like die for him. Doesn't that give you a hint as to why I would want to come back and save you?" Wyatt had reached out to softly stroke his brother's forehead as he spoke and Chris did not pull away from the comforting motion. It had been so long since he had felt anyone try to comfort him that he couldn't deny how good the touch felt. And he did understand where Wyatt was coming from too. He had to admit that.

"Okay, you win. If Dad comes back and can heal me, you can tell them," he whispered but a large part of him didn't think that his father had a chance in hell of saving him, but he'd at least humor his brother until he died and besides, at that moment he would do nearly anything to keep his brother with him, comforting him until the end.

Wyatt smiled knowing in his heart that their father would stop at nothing to save Chris now that he suspected the truth and even if he were not sure, Phoebe would surely figure it out from the emotions she had felt earlier.

But he didn't mention any of this to his brother as he crawled onto the couch behind him with Chris' head resting on his leg. He continued to run his hand through the hair on Chris' forehead, which he knew from years of experience would sooth the fear and tension away from him. There had been many nights in his childhood where he had woken to Chris' cries in the night from the nightmares left behind from the years he had spent underground and the experience of watching another version of himself die before his very eyes. The only one who ever seemed able to comfort him from that day forward had been Wyatt. Wyatt often expected that the fact that his family had let older Chris die in his version of time had had a seriously adverse affect on how much the child felt he could trust them. But that was gonna change. Wyatt had made sure of it. Chris would not die this time around and his family would not be broken anymore.

* * *

Piper had just finished tucking her sons into bed and had closed the door to the bedroom leaving them bunked together in Wyatt's bed. Wyatt had insisted that his brother would feel safer with him and she had made sure to set up a perimeter of crystals to keep them safe herself. She thought that she might lie down on her own bed and try to get a little rest herself. It had been a very emotional day and her entire body felt as if it would soon give out.

But it wasn't long before she realized that she would never get any sleep as long as she worried about her sons, not to mention the nagging feeling that there was a realization that her husband had come to that she just couldn't grasp on her own at the moment, so she made her way back to their room intent on sleeping in the rocker that had been there since Wyatt was a baby. But as she very easily cracked the door open, so as not to wake the boys, she heard voices coming from the room.

"Their not gonna let him die. I know they won't," Wyatt said his voice full of conviction.

"But they don't love him like they do you and me," the younger boy answered back. "Why?"

"They just don't know who he is yet. It's not their fault. They'll change their minds when my older self tells them the truth. You'll see," Wyatt said hoping that he was right. Wouldn't Mommy and Daddy love Chris too if they knew he was their son?

"I wish that I'd never promised to keep it a secret. They hate him so much, and it hurts him a lot. I can feel it because of our link, but now that he's shut the link down I don't feel anything anymore and I can't hear him talking or see what he sees. It's almost scarier this way. It felt good most of the time. Like I was never alone. What if something happens and he dies? I won't even know." The boy had started crying when he uttered the last words.

Piper blinked a few times not believing what she had just heard. If what her son said was true then that could mean only one thing… but her thoughts were interrupted as Wyatt spoke again. "It's okay. I'm still linked with my older version. He's trying to heal Chris, so he'll last till Daddy can kill the demon. I'll know if the worst happens… But it won't. Chris will live and then the other Wyatt will tell them all the truth and you can quit pretending. I can stop calling you "kid" and call you by your real name. It will only be a little confusing till our older selves go back to their time."

"Wyatt, I'm glad you're my brother," the boy said snuggling deeper into the covers.

"I'm glad too, Chris, and I promise, I'll never let anyone hurt you again," Wyatt vowed wrapping one arm protectively around his little brother never realizing that their words had reached the ears of their mother just outside the door.

Piper slowly closed the door and then sunk back against the wall behind her as her knees gave way below her and she slid to the floor. She placed both hands over her mouth trying to stave off any sound that might escape her lips and warn her sons of her presence as she stared at the carpet between her feet and tried to force back the feeling of vertigo. "Chris…" she whispered weakly into her hands as teardrops slowly formed in the corners of her eyes and then trailed down her cheeks. She tried to grasp the fact that the young man who was lying in her attic, possibly dying, was actually her son and he had sacrificed his life to save his brother. "Oh god, Chris…" she said again as a sob escaped her lips and she wrapped one arm around her middle as an immense pain shot through her from her heart down her body and out each limb. She knew it wasn't anything actually physically wrong with her, not unless a breaking heart could really kill someone but the pain was just as real for her.

Then all of the harsh words and cruel actions of the past few months came creeping back into her mind and the sobs became worse as she tried to bite them back so she wouldn't alert her sons of her pain. "What did I do to my son?" she cried hitting the back of her head against the wall behind her several times as if the physical pain might pull her away from the emotional turmoil she felt inside.

After several moments she managed to convince herself that her breakdown would serve none of them and she had to stop it before she became lost to it, so she forced herself to stand and wiped her eyes as she made her way slowly up the stairs to the attic on shaky legs.

* * *

Leo had orbed to the back room in P3, which was where Paige had taken Phoebe. The older of the two sisters was sitting on the couch with her head down and was clinging to a pillow that belonged to Chris. She had it clutched tightly to her chest as if she were holding him trying to will the life into him. She hadn't said anything to Paige yet, now only slightly in control of her emotions. 

When Leo appeared she looked up and the look on her face begged him to tell her that Chris was still alive. "If we want to save Chris, we have to find Barbas so I can kill him," he said without any hesitation. "Wyatt says that his lair is near the Necromancer's. Paige, you've gotta show me where to go." He didn't include Phoebe in the statement realizing that she was in no shape to go anywhere with them.

"Okay, hon. I can do that. You'll be okay, Sis?" Paige asked Phoebe with some concern.

Phoebe's eyes never left Leo's. "I'll be fine, but Leo you need to know…"

But he cut her off. "I already know, Phoebe. Chris is my son. Or at least I'm ninety nine percent sure that he is."

Paige's eyes widened severely. "Holy Mother... That's what he's been hiding?"

Phoebe and Leo both nodded simultaneously and Leo sighed seeing that she had confirmed what he already knew. "I can save him, but we have to go now."

Paige immediately grabbed his arm and they orbed away, leaving Phoebe where she was. All this time, she should have sensed it, somehow. She had begun to sense Chris' turmoil recently. All the signs were there. Why hadn't she done something about it? "God, Chris, I'm so sorry," she cried burying her face in the pillow which smelled of his aftershave and the smell only served to remind her of how much she had failed him. "Please don't die."

* * *

Piper stopped at the attic doorway as she glanced inside to see the sight that her sons made together. 'Her sons' she thought sadly to herself. She had had months now with Chris so near to her and she had wasted all the time she could have spent getting to know the real him. She had wasted that time on mistrust and anger. And now that she knew who he was and was ready to accept him time was the one luxury that it seemed they didn't have. Not unless Leo could find a way to save him. "Please, Leo, save our son," she whispered to the heavens and then moved into the room catching the attention of her oldest son. 

"Hey, Mom," Wyatt called out to her, alerting Chris of her presence.

He had been lying silently trying to conserve his strength but his brother's words brought his attention back to them as he turned his head to face her.

He didn't speak but watched in fascination as Piper walked hesitantly towards them and kneeled on the floor in front of him. She smiled up at Wyatt and he could see the redness that blotched the skin around her eyes. This made him wonder just what she had been crying about. Then she turned to look at Chris memorizing all of the lines of his face wondering why she had never seen her youngest son's features in the young man that had invaded their lives from the future. "Hey, Chris. How ya feeling?" she asked quietly reaching one hand out and laying it on his arm softly.

He grinned lopsidedly and then winced as a streak of pain constricted his chest. Piper's grip on his arm tightened slightly and she prayed the pain would pass soon. Once it did Chris looked at her again and breathed out quietly, "Been better."

"I imagine you have," she whispered returning his grin with a weak smile. "Chris…" she began but wasn't exactly sure what to say. "I need…" she tried again but that didn't sound right either. "You see…" Oh hell, why was it so hard to ask him the simple question?

The look in his eyes became worried as he guessed at what she might be trying to say. No, how could she know? Had Wyatt said too much? He felt a cold chill run up his spine and his face flushed slightly as knots of anxiety formed in his stomach adding to the discomfort he already felt.

Piper could see the anxiety written across his face and realized that it was she who was causing it. She didn't want to do that to him. She wanted him to be happy that she knew who he was. "Chris, please, don't get upset. I don't want you to be afraid," she whispered reaching up and smoothing the hair off his forehead trying to smooth the lines of worry she saw there. "I heard the young ones talking a moment ago. They didn't know I could hear them."

For just a moment Chris had reveled in the feel of her cool fingers against his hot brow but her words sent another bolt of fear through him and he wanted to cringe away from her. Her actions seemed so kind but what if it was just a ploy to get him to admit it? Would his mother really do something like that? The mother he had grown up with wouldn't have, but this wasn't that woman. This was the woman who had grown to hate him fiercely over the last few months. "Please, don't…" he finally managed to press through his trembling lips as the tears began to form in the corners of his eyes again.

Piper immediately saw the anguish he was feeling over what she said and knew she had to put his mind to rest. "Sh… shh… Chris. It's okay. No need to cry," she pleaded reaching out and wiping his tears away as they started to fall from his eyes. "I don't hate you, and I'm not even mad at you anymore, just please tell me the truth. Are you my son? Are you that little boy that I've fallen in love with over the past few weeks?" At those words Piper's eyes too started to tear up and she couldn't stop the tears that slid down her own cheeks thinking of all the pain her child was in.

Chris wanted to deny it. To keep the pain away from his heart, but how could he? How could he stare into his mother's tear stained face and lie to her denying that he was hers?

Wyatt had listened to the conversation quietly and was watching both of their reactions to it. He knew the turmoil his brother was in, but he could also see his mother's pain written clearly across her face. He looked again to Chris and tried something he wasn't sure would work. He and the Chris from his own time had always shared a mental link that allowed them to communicate with each other and he used it now hoping that this Chris would also be able to hear him. _"Chris, tell her the truth. She won't reject you. Look at her face. She wants it to be true. Even I can see that."_

Even though Chris had never shared that type of connection with the Wyatt from his time he still was able to pick up on the link and hear his brother's words. His face never left his mother's as he responded to the quiet plea. _"I want that to be true. You can't imagine how much I want it, Wy. But what if you are wrong? After everything that has happened it doesn't seem right to expect her to care for me."_

"_Doesn't seem right?" _Wyatt's voice nearly blared in his head. _"Chris, what is so wrong about you wanting to be loved by your mother? What is so wrong about you wanting to have a family that cares about you? It's the most right thing in the world. Let her love you, Chris, for both your sakes."_

Chris sighed heavily hearing his brother's words and continued to stare into his mother's eyes. "I'm sorry... Mom," he finally breathed out as the tears streamed down his face and he felt the sobs begin to wrack his body again. "I didn't… want to lie to you… I was too… afraid." His words came out between the sobs he could no longer hold back.

Piper shook her head back and forth vigorously not wanting him to feel any shame in what he had done and then leaned into him wrapping her arms around his torso loosely so she wouldn't hurt him. "It's okay, baby. It's okay. Don't cry. I understand," she tried to sooth him through her own tears as she felt him trembling in her arms.

Chris reached up with weakened arms very slowly and wrapped them around her, enjoying the comfort she was offering. After several long moments of them just holding each other Piper pulled back so she could see his face. She stared into those crystal green eyes and saw the love her son felt for her and couldn't believe she had missed it being there before. How could someone hide that much overwhelming love from her? But for now she needed to worry about boosting her son's spirits until his father returned. "Chris, you are going to make it through this. Your father won't let you down."

Chris felt another shot of pain go through his chest at that. Leo had never been a father to him. Not a real father. Not the type of father he wanted him to be. How could he? "But he doesn't even know, Mom. I don't think he can."

Piper just smiled at him remembering the look on Leo's face just before he left. "I'd be surprised if he didn't know, Chris. But even if he doesn't, Leo started being concerned for you not long after your younger self entered our lives. He'll save you. I know he will."

Chris was very surprised to hear those words. Sure he had seen the way his father had begun to act around him for a short while there. But ... "He hates me.." he choked out sadly.

"Chris, there is a very thin line between love and hate and it's not hard to feel both emotions for the same person," Piper explained knowing how easy it was to go from hate to love in just a matter of minutes. "Look at me. I hated you for a while there, but only because I got it all wrong. I didn't understand what you were doing here. Now I understand and I love you for a million reasons. For everything you've done for your family, for the sacrifices you've made for us and for your brother, for who you are."

Chris nodded understanding the position she was in but still afraid that things might not go that well with Leo. His mother in the future had always loved him and accepted him, but Leo was a completely different story.

* * *

_A/N: Ah, wonderful tearful mother and son moment there. I hope you all enjoyed. Yes, I know Chris is still dying. I'll get to that soon. I promise._


	15. It Wasn't Me

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N**: Have you ever had a week where every time you sit down to write someone comes in and interrupts you until you are to the point that you don't even remember what you were gonna write? That has been this week for me. Sorry I didn't update sooner but now you know why.

* * *

**Chapter 15 It Wasn't Me**

As Leo and Paige orbed into the underworld Leo was trying desperately to keep his mind on the task at hand but it just kept drifting back to the attic, to the son that he had wronged so many times in the past few months. To Leo for most of that time Chris had been absolutely nothing, just a nuisance who had disrupted his life and tried to take his place as the sister's Whitelighter, but he had to imagine just how the treatment from those months had seemed to Chris, how it must have devastated him time after time.

He had told them that in his version of the future Leo had never cared for his second son. Meaning he had never cared for him. But how could that be true? How could anyone not care for that sweet little boy they had found in the underworld? And even the older version of him. When Leo found him exhausted and locked in a nightmare that night at P3 hadn't he wanted to take care of him? He had immediately had the urge of a father trying to care for his son. Maybe it was instinct. Maybe it was do to his feelings for the younger version, he really did not know. But he did know that he very much did care for his son, both versions of him.

"Leo, come on, pay attention. I know you have a lot on your mind right now, but this is the underworld. We can't afford your woolgathering," Paige said snapping her fingers in front of Leo's face. He had nearly just ran into a wall while preoccupied with his own thoughts.

"Sorry, Paige. It's just hard not to think about him right now," Leo explained anxiety clearly written across his face.

"I know. Believe me, I know. We all really screwed up this time. But the only way I can see to make it up to the kid is to save his life. So that means we need to concentrate on that scumbag Barbas." Paige knew she had a lot to make up for too. She couldn't really remember ever saying anything that wasn't at least halfway bitchy towards Chris. She hadn't trusted him, plain and simple and she'd have to live with the consequences of her own actions, but for now she'd do the only thing she knew that could start to make up for them.

Leo just nodded as they drew closer to Barbas' lair. They weren't far now at all. Only a couple of more turns. Most of the demons that would have normally been in this part of the underworld were either dead or hiding. The news of the confrontation between Barbas and the Charmed Ones had spread throughout the underworld and most of the other demons wanted nothing to do with it.

Barbas' chambers seemed very much like most of the underworld as they entered them. Maybe a little on the drearier side considering the feeling of dread that permeated them the moment they crossed the threshold, but other than that, nothing special. But one thing about the lair did disturb them. No Barbas. He was nowhere in sight and the only demon present surprisingly was the Seer. She was standing next to one of the doors leading away from Barbas' living quarters and she looked as if she had been waiting for them.

Leo's hands immediately rose in an offensive move as his mind linked her into Barbas' scheme against his family.

"Wait, don't. I want Barbas gone as much as you do," she called out raising her hands defensively.

"Yeah, right. That's why you helped him convince us to hate Chris," Paige quipped angrily looking around the chamber hoping to see something sharp and dangerous that she could teleorb into the demon.

"That I had no choice in. When an upper level demon like Barbas has the power to use your own worst fears against you, you pretty much do as he says. At least until you find someone strong enough to kill him that is," she finished in an offhand manner knowing they'd understand her implication.

"So changing sides, are we?" Leo asked lowering his hands slightly. _'Or setting a trap,'_ he added mentally.

"A girl's gotta do whatever it takes to survive, now doesn't she?" the Seer answered with a devilish smile touching her lips.

"And what exactly can you give us, that will keep you alive in the next three seconds?" Paige asked spying a very sharp looking dagger on a table across the room. "Dagger," she called and the object flew into her hand.

The Seer smirked at the sharp object that she knew might soon be imbedded in her own chest. It would be easy to just shimmer away from there and let them rot. But at the time Barbas' posed a much worse threat in her mind. She was fed up with being controlled like a puppet on a string by the Demon of Fear. When she had originally agreed to work with him the plan had been that she would help him to elevate himself to the top of the demon pecking order and then she would have enough power to do just about whatever she wished, but she had soon found out that she was little more than a stepping stone in Barbas' plans to dominate the Underworld. That would just not do. No, much better now to just let them put him down and wait for a better demon to mold. "Barbas thinks he is safely hidden in my chambers, while he licks his wounds." The Demon of Fear knew that he could not be sensed in her chambers. She had long ago set up a ward against sensing in her own chambers, keeping her effectively hidden from the forces of good and evil alike. Chris had been the first witch in years to find her but he had refused to tell her just how that had happened. How ironic that he had used his future knowledge to outwit someone who looked into the future all the time.

"And how are we supposed to find your chambers?" Paige asked seeing where she was going with the comment.

"I could always shimmer you there," she suggested knowing just how well a witch would like that idea.

Paige screwed up her face in a disgusted look but Leo stepped forward. "Whatever it takes."

Paige wondered why she would even think about being surprised at Leo's actions. This was his son they were trying to save. "All right, all right. But I warn you…" she warned pointing the dagger at the Seer as she also moved forward and stood in front of the demon.

"Believe me, you have nothing to fear," she answered placing a hand on each of their shoulders and shimmering them to her hidden lair. "Well except for maybe them," she commented her eyes going wide as she ducked to the ground once they appeared in her lair and were faced by four Darklighters with their crossbows pointed directly at them.

The first arrow flew as Paige spun around and deflected it away with her orbing power. "You rotten little bitch."

"Not my fault. You took so long to find me, how was I supposed to know he'd find reinforcements while I waited for you?" the Seer called out as she cowered behind the seeing pool. Paige was busy though deflecting the arrows away from them as Leo worked his way to the adjoining chamber.

Leo knew that Barbas had to be somewhere near. He could feel the hair stand on the back of his neck as he entered the chamber.

Barbas had managed to regain a good bit of the strength he had lost from the Elder's first attack on him and was now ready to inflict even more torture on one of his victims. He remained invisible enabling him to sneak up behind Leo.

"Your fears are an open book, Elder," he whispered softly.

Leo whirled around feeling the presence of fear enveloping every inch of his being. "Where are you coward?"

But the voice came again even more persistent. "Elders aren't supposed to fear, are they? But you have fears, many of them."

"Why won't you face me, or are you afraid too. You had to sneak up from behind to get my son. Is that more your style, demon?" That one word, demon, was laced with so much hatred and loathing that it nearly gagged him to even give it voice.

"Your son! My wasn't that an interesting discovery, but are you truly worthy to claim him as yours? I see your fears. The fear that you will become the monster from his future whom hated and mistreated him," Barbas stated in a lilting tone. "Do you want to see what you did to your _son_?"

Leo knew he should fight the images that the Demon projected before him, but that was easier said than done, even for an Elder.

_He stood sadly staring out over the vast expanse of the city from the relatively secluded bridge top, thinking through what his life had become. It was plain to see the pain fresh on his face and the slump to his shoulders. He didn't want to be disturbed. He wanted to grieve on his own for everything the world had taken from him._

_As bright blue and white orbs shown behind him Leo turned to see the last person he wanted to see at that moment. "Chris, just go back to the Manor. I'm not in the mood for you right now," he said in a rather defeated tone._

_It was easy to see the bright red rings around the youth's eyes as he too mourned the loss of the one person he cared for the most in the world. "We need to talk, Leo. It's about Wyatt," Chris whispered knowing he needed to tell someone about the things he knew his brother would do in the near future. He had hoped it wouldn't happen, but every sign pointed to Wyatt becoming what Chris feared most. He knew he couldn't stop it alone and he hoped and prayed that maybe just this once Leo and he could put aside their differences and work towards the same goal._

_The mention of his older beloved son actually drew his attention. "What about Wyatt? Is he in danger?" It was not hard to see the concern in his eyes and hear the worry in his voice for the one person in the world that he had left._

_Chris' hands began to tremble slightly and he clamped them tightly to his side as he braced himself. This conversation was one he had imagined having several times in the past but it was still nerve-wracking to actually attempt it. "In a way, yes he is in danger," Chris answered beating around the bush slightly._

"_Get to it, Chris. Now is not the time for one of your games," Leo demanded angrily._

_Chris shook his head slowly feeling the beginnings of the defeat he knew he would soon suffer. Leo wasn't going to listen to him. He never did. But especially not now that Piper was gone. "I loved her too, you know," he whispered in anguish trying to get the man to see that they at least shared one thing in their lives._

_Leo's eyes closed for a moment and his teeth clenched at the pain that those words caused. "Don't talk about her, Chris. Don't ever talk about her," he growled angrily._

"_Why not? She was my mom, too. Not just Wyatt's," Chris bit out bitterly._

"_You selfish, little, brat. Can't you see I don't want to talk about her?" Leo yelled finally losing his temper completely._

_Chris backed off slightly at the angry voice but for once in his life did not completely retreat in fear. "Well then, maybe you want to talk about your son and the fact that he's turning into a monster."_

_Leo blinked a few times in surprise at that statement. "What the hell are you talking about?"_

"_Wyatt, that's what. The fact that he's becoming evil right before your eyes and you either don't see it or don't want to see it," Chris shouted back fed up with cowering away from the Elder._

_Leo stared in what seemed complete shock at those words. His son was not evil. He knew that. Wyatt was anything but evil. "I knew you were low. I knew that before, when that other you was in our time, but I never thought you'd sink this low. Wyatt is nothing but good. You are the one, I'm not so sure about," Leo threw out at the young man wanting to hurt him, wanting to cause him as much pain as he felt himself._

_But if he had known the young witch at all he would have realized just how much pain he was truly in and how those words just doubled the pain even farther. "You just don't understand. When that demon took him, it did something to him. Changed him. Can't you see that?"_

"_Chris, when I look at my son I see everything in this world that is good, now you on the other hand… the only thing I see when I look at you anymore is that young man that betrayed my son. Tell me, you have all of the memories of that other Chris. Did he leave before or after the demon arrived? I really would like to know," Leo yelled again at him walking forward making Chris back up towards the edge of the bridge._

_Chris shook his head in denial as his worst pain came to light. The one crime he had never committed but would always be responsible for anyway. "That wasn't me, it wasn't me," he cried out backing even farther away from Leo as the anger he had felt moments before turned into guilt and self-loathing._

"_It wasn't, huh?" Leo asked his face twisting into an ugly snarl. "But it will be won't it? Someday, when you're older, you'll travel back in time and betray my son all over again. But what I really wonder, is just how far that betrayal actually goes. Will you be just a coward? Or has it been your plan all along to do this? Maybe all those years living with the demons has you a little confused as to which side you should be on."_

_Chris had thought that he had heard all of the worst accusations that Leo could make, but apparently this time he had sunk further than ever before. His guilt and self-loathing turned rather quickly into outright rage. "You bastard. I'm trying to save your son," he screamed and slammed his fists out against Leo's chest only slightly rocking the man backwards with the blow._

"_You're the one to talk about bastards. I don't want your help, saving my son," Leo countered shoving against the much smaller youth and watched as the boy staggered back and lost his footing. _

_Fear ran across Chris' face for an instant as his foot slipped off the edge of the bridge and he began to tumble backwards into nothingness._

_Leo watched in shock, unable to move as the blood froze in his veins seeing what he had done. Chris' body tumbled away from him and down through the open air and for just a moment true fear gripped him, knowing that the boy could possibly die within seconds. _

_Once that thought really clicked into his mind Leo began to orb himself below the falling teen but Chris himself had regained his senses and his body was engulfed in blue and white orbs and disappeared._

_Leo searched all around expecting to see the boy orb back in but as nothing appeared he realized that Chris wasn't coming back and he sunk to the metal beam below him lost in the image that was now burned into his mind of him almost killing his adopted son. How had he sunk so low? _

As Leo was ripped from the image he found himself sitting on the cavern floor with his face resting in his hands as tears streaked down his own cheeks. During the image he had found himself in the place of the Leo from Chris' timeline saying the things he had said and doing the things he had done, even thinking the things he had thought and the images and words and thoughts were more than he could bear. They weren't real and they weren't his and there wasn't anything about them that didn't make him feel disgusted and dirty. "Oh my god, Chris!" he whispered as he felt the instinct to be very ill and forced it away as thoughts of the pain his son had experienced, apparently at his own hands, flew through his mind. "That wasn't me, it wasn't me," he whispered his own words echoing his son's from the vision.

"Oh, but does that really matter," a voice whispered in his ear. "To you it was he that betrayed Wyatt, and to him it was you who betrayed him. You tried to kill him, your own son. He will never see it differently. Isn't it better that that version of him just pass away into nothingness as you start over with the family you have now?"

Leo heard the words and knew that he could do just that. Start over and make it right for the version of his son that was still a child, the small boy that he had come to love so easily. But could he really do that? No he couldn't, for he knew that every time he looked into the eyes of his small child he would see the eyes of the older version, who he had failed, who he had betrayed. He couldn't betray his son like that. He shook his head in denial trying desperately to shake off the vision's effects. "No! I won't lose my son."

"He hates you. He will never be your son," the voice whispered and then just as suddenly Leo felt the overwhelming fear that had permeated the room just vanish.

He looked around quickly and realized just how Barbas had played on his fears long enough to allow himself to escape. "Damn, demon," he called in rage standing quickly and headed back to the adjoining chamber where Paige had just finished off the last of the Darklighters.

She looked to him and quickly voiced the question in her mind. "Barbas?"

The look of fury on Leo's face gave her the answer though. Paige turned to the Seer seeing that she was attempting to slink from the room. "Oh, no." She hadn't yet let go of the dagger she had found in Barbas' lair and was next to the demon in seconds with the blade held to her throat. "You found him once, now you can do it again."

* * *

Even half way across town Phoebe still could feel the emotions running high in her own home. She had never felt so much emotional pain from one person in her entire life and wondered just how Chris had managed to hide it from them for so long especially from her. She should have seen it. She had had hints of it at times but had always put it off to the back of her mind as something to deal with later. But every later just worked towards making life even harder for her nephew. She should have done better than that. He deserved better than that.

So even though she knew she'd be walking right back into the emotional whirlwind, she took a cab back to the Manor and braced herself for the pain she would soon be in. She found Piper and her two sons in the attic together and could see how desperately Piper clung to Chris' arm as she whispered softly to him.

Phoebe could feel an almost sense of peace wafting from her injured nephew as his mother and brother worked together to try to comfort him until he could be healed. "Hey," she called from the attic door.

Three sets of eyes met hers. Wyatt immediately worried about his aunt's barely controlled empathic powers. "Phoebe, why did you come back?"

Phoebe crossed over to them only slightly wincing as she felt Chris' anxiety over her presence there. She kneeled next to Piper on the floor and gave Chris and encouraging look. "I could have went halfway around the world and not been able to escape the pain. And besides, my place is here, with my family," she said reaching out and lightly squeezing Chris' hand.

Chris was surprised that she just accepted everything so easily. Even though Aunt Phoebe had been his defender on many occasions in his original timeline he still had figured that she'd need more time to adjust than that. "Sorry… 'bout the pain, I mean."

Phoebe frowned at that statement. "Chris, that's not your fault. I think it's really my own fault if you look at it the right way. But believe me, I'd rather feel the pain than to have you hide it from us like you have been."

"I agree completely. From now on you are completely honest with us, no matter what," Piper said in worry.

Chris nodded in response wanting to assure his mother in any way he could. _But that is assuming I live through this_, he commented to himself silently knowing his mother would not want to hear that comment at all.

* * *

_A/N: Okay, a note about this chapter. I must say that I have always loved Leo's character, well at least the Leo from this timeline. The one in Chris' future can jump off a cliff as far as I'm concerned. That being said this chapter is not designed to make you hate Leo, so please don't. I just want to show how bad things were in Chris' timeline and how bad Leo could have been if Chris hadn't changed things._


	16. I Won't Accept That

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N**: Well a few days and a dentist appointment later and I am now ready to update. Sorry it took longer than usual. A toothache can seriously slow down the creative process. Wow, and look at that. The longest chapter I've ever written. Enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 16 : I Won't Accept That**

"None of you are really strong enough to withstand Barbas' manipulations, you know that don't you?" the Seer asked pulling away from Paige and walking casually to her seeing pool. "Well, none of you besides for maybe Chris that is."

"What does that mean?" Paige asked angrily following the demoness until she was standing next to the pool also.

"The minute you think you've got him where you want him, he turns it around on you and the next thing you know you are a puddle on the floor. You saw that, Leo," she answered realizing by the haunted look in his eyes that Barbas had already won a victory over the Elder.

Paige glanced at Leo and saw the flash of pain slide through his eyes before he looked away. "Leo, what happened?" she asked in concern for her brother-in-law.

Leo shook his head trying to shake away the image of his son nearly falling to his death. "That doesn't matter right now. Chris does."

Paige stared at him for a long moment knowing that whatever it was would probably haunt him for a long time to come but that would have to wait so she looked back to the Seer. "You said Chris might be strong enough to withstand Barbas. Why?"

"Barbas feeds off of fear. Chris' greatest fear was that you all would find out who he was and reject him or his younger self because of everything he's been forced to do to save his brother," she began to explain.

Leo immediately realized what she was getting at. "We already know who Chris is and none of us are rejecting him. His greatest fear has been proven false. Barbas can't use it against him anymore."

"But Chris can't face Barbas. He can barely talk, much less face a demon." How ironic that the one person that they knew who could face Barbas was also the one person who might shortly die because of that very same demon.

"We'll just have to find a different way. Where has Barbas gone? Does your pool tell you that?" Leo asked joining them next to the basin of water.

The Seer sighed heavily and reached her hand out over the pool concentrating on the Demon of Fear. Once her hand drew back an image swirled through the water and both Paige and Leo were gripped in fear. "But that hasn't happened," Leo spoke up in complete fear at what the image revealed.

"That is because this is the future. It may be hours from now or it might only be a few minutes, but it has not happened yet. It can be changed though, but that is up to you," the Seer explained as the image faded away.

"Leo, what do we do?" Paige asked unsure of how they could stop that image from coming true.

Leo didn't hesitate as he thought of the family that needed him. "We go," he spoke up reaching out and grabbing the Seer's hand orbing them away with Paige following shortly behind.

* * *

Never in all of the time that Chris had spent in the past had he imagined that his family would ever accept him. It was an amazing occurrence, one that he wished did not have to end with him dying but he knew just how hard it would be for Leo to kill Barbas. The Charmed Ones may have bested the Demon of Fear once but he had learned from his mistakes and Chris knew just how clever the demon could be. 

But still, he would have given almost anything to look at his mother's face and see the look that he was receiving right then. It was the same look that the mother from his own time used to give him whenever she was concerned over him, and it held more love than he thought could possibly exist. He knew he should differentiate between the Piper in this timeline and his Mom from his own but at the moment that was just not something he either could or for that matter wanted to do.

Piper saw the longing look in her youngest son's eyes and knew that he had to be remembering her from his own time. She could only hope and pray that she would be able to live up to the memories he held of that woman. She reached out and tenderly stroked his cheek knowing instinctively that the action would comfort him and when he turned his hand into her cheek accepting the action it nearly broke her heart to see how much he truly did need her comfort.

Wyatt had been constantly using the small amount of healing he possessed to keep Chris from sinking any further into the pain that the curse was ravaging his body with but even with that he could feel how much weaker Chris was becoming. Time was drawing short for his brother and there was nothing he could do. He noticed as Chris' eyes drifted closed for a moment and even though he could feel his brother's heart beating where his hand rested on his chest, an intense fear gripped his heart. "Hey, Chris, stay with us okay," he called slightly shaking his brother's frame.

Chris' eyes slowly opened back up and he sighed which caused another coughing fit. This one was far worse than any he had had so far and Chris could feel the blood that was beginning to cut off his breathing clogging his windpipe.

Chris didn't want his mother to see the blood he knew would cover the palm of his hand once he withdrew it from his mouth, so he pulled it down grasping his hand closed tightly hoping to hide the sight. But there was no hiding the splotches of blood that ended up on his shirt as his hand grazed it.

Piper's eyes widened and Phoebe gasped. She reached out grasping his hand and he didn't have the strength to stop her from opening it, letting them all see that it was covered with a fair amount of bright red blood. She looked to Piper and then to Wyatt who just closed his eyes remembering the painful and bloody death that he had witnessed when he was eight years old. She gave Chris a half-hearted smile and squeezed his hand. "It's okay, Sweetie. This isn't over yet."

Chris returned the smile silently thanking his aunt for her words of encouragement even though he knew his time was becoming short.

Piper though felt fear threaten to completely overcome her and wondered just how much more her son could take.

But just as she was beginning to lose all hope the sound of tinkling orbs pulled her away from the morbid thoughts of her son and they all turned to see Leo and Paige forming with one other person between them.

Piper felt excitement bubble up in her chest wondering if her husband had been successful in killing the demon that had tried to destroy her son. Needless to say she was rather surprised to see the third person form between them. "What is she doing here?"

"Helping us," Paige said stepping forward so she could see how Chris was doing. His pasty complexion and the dark circles that had formed around his eyes told everything though.

Phoebe glanced at the Seer tapping into her emotions and could tell that she did want to help them defeat Barbas, so she just nodded towards Piper who had glanced at her questioning the demoness' motives. Piper sighed slightly accepting any help they could get to save her son.

She turned back to Leo giving him a questioning glance and asked what she wanted to know most. "And Barbas?"

"Will be here shortly," Leo answered also moving forward. His thoughts had been preoccupied with his son ever since he had left them before but now that he was in the same room as him, he felt almost hesitant to draw near. The image that Barbas had given him was still so fresh in his mind and the words that the demon had spoken still rang in his ears. Did Chris truly hate him? He couldn't blame him if he did. But he had to push those thoughts from his mind for the time being as he faced his fears and kneeled in front of his son. He didn't dare to touch the youth for fear of upsetting him, but he still had to see how bad off he was. "Hey, Chris, you still holding in there?" he asked softly as the young man eyed him warily.

Chris swallowed hard as Leo approached him. Piper had said that she was sure that Leo knew who he was and if that was true, how would he react? Phoebe and Piper had both moved back so Leo could have a moment with Chris, which made the young man slightly uncomfortable. They had accepted him and both had been his protectors in his version of the future, and all of a sudden when faced with someone he had always been partially afraid of it was as if they had abandoned him and he just wasn't sure how to react. But Leo had asked him a question and he knew he should answer so he nodded slowly wondering what reaction the man would have.

"I'm sorry, Chris. I haven't been able to vanquish him yet. I wish this was over and Barbas was dead. I know you are in a lot of pain, right now, Son. But I promise you, whatever I have to do, I'll fix this," Leo said wanting so badly to assure Chris that he wouldn't let him down again, not in this or anything else.

_Son_, he had called him Son. Not Chris, or brat or any of the other hate-filled names that he had used in Chris' timeline. Never once had Leo ever acknowledged the fact that Chris was his son in the future and it was something that had always cut so deep during the lonely times he had spent while growing up. But he had to remind himself that that wasn't this Leo. This Leo was different. He had proved that on many occasions but Chris hadn't ever wanted to believe it before. But maybe this once, he could let himself believe. He knew that if he weren't lying there dying that his outlook on the situation would probably be very different. He knew how the old resentments and bitterness would creep up and he would have been outraged to hear Leo call him that, but not right at this moment. Couldn't he just pretend for a few moments that Leo did care and that he could have a real father, who wanted to save him? It was only for a little while, just until the end came. Didn't he deserve it after everything he'd gone through?

So with that he tentatively reached out and laid one trembling hand on Leo's hoping that the man wouldn't pull back or flinch away breaking the fantasy that Chris was desperately grasping for.

Leo looked down to where Chris' hand rested on top of his own and he could see the blood staining the pale skin and his heart constricted at the sight but he didn't pull away. Instead he placed his other hand over Chris' and squeezed tightly as new tears formed in his eyes at the sign of acceptance.

"Bravo, bravo, what an absolutely beautiful performance," came a disembodied voice through the air. "Too bad, it's just that, a performance." They all heard it and Leo spun around looking for the creature, which had voiced those words. He stood reluctantly letting go of Chris' hand and took a protective stance in front of his sons.

"Show yourself, coward," he yelled still unable to tell where the voice had come from.

"So you can kill me. I think not, Elder," the voice called seeming to be in front of and behind him all at the same time.

"Piper, come over here," Leo called out seeing that she was out in the open by herself. Not a good place to be when a demon was about.

Piper gave him a questioning look but started to walk towards him when she suddenly felt a hand grasp her throat and a body press up against her from behind. "Now, now, it won't be as much fun that way," he whispered in her ear as another hand came up and she could feel the Athame blade touch her throat.

Several shouts of both "Piper" and "Mom" could be heard throughout the attic as the demon completely took form.

Leo moved forward wanting to save his wife but Barbas gave him a devilish look and shook his head. "Uh, uh… Not any closer, Elder. Not unless you want to leave your sons motherless."

Leo immediately stopped moving but continued to glare menacingly at the Demon of Fear. "Always hiding behind women and children, I see. Doesn't say much for you, now does it?" he called out bitterly.

Barbas just smiled at that statement not feeling any compunction to defend himself whatsoever. "Demons shall be demons, now won't they?" he answered then looked around the room. He spied the Seer and made a mental note to torture her for the rest of her days as a demon. Then noticed something was missing. "Ah, but the children. Where are they?"

"Leave them out of this," Piper spat out in rage pulling at the demon's arm desperate to keep her children from the monster's grasp.

"Ah, but that is just not possible. And considering the fact that at least one of them is probably listening in on this conversation through the link with his older self, I'm sure they are both terrified of losing their mother right about now," he explained happily. "Oh, boys, I think you should join us right about now."

Wyatt's eyes widened as he immediately closed down the link with his younger self. He hadn't thought to do so earlier but now regretted it. He knew exactly how foolhardy his own younger self could be at that age and knew exactly what his reaction would be. But it was just too late.

The younger version of Wyatt orbed into the room landing just a few feet from where Barbas held his mother. To the demon's surprise though the moment he materialized a shield swallowed him and he was alone. "Let her go," young Wyatt demanded.

"Ah, ever the hero, he comes to save his mother, just as his older self traveled here to save his little brother. You do realize that you'll never be able to save them both, don't you?" Barbas questioned discarding the thought of the younger boy, who in his mind was inconsequential.

"Wyatt, go back to your room," Leo called out, fear for his son rippling from him.

Barbas could feel the fear in the room and it was such delicious fare for him. He hadn't enjoyed this much of the intoxicating emotion in such a long time.

Even through the pain he felt Chris couldn't just sit back and watch as the demon that he was beginning to consider his own personal tormentor dismantled his family one by one. So he braced himself for the pain he was soon to feel as he reached out and used the back of the couch to pull himself up. Wyatt was shocked by the action and tried to hold his brother back but Chris wasn't having any of that. "Chris, stop. You're not in any kind of shape for this."

All eyes flew to the couch where the young Witchlighter had managed to pull himself completely upright and was glaring at the demon through eyes filled both with pain and with anger. "Barbas, leave my family alone," he bit out through clenched teeth as he wrapped one arm around his stomach and attempted to stand.

"Chris, no," several voices called throughout the room and Leo immediately moved towards him, trying to stop his forward movement.

"Oh, such bravery. Such devotion. It is quite touching to see how the castoff from the future is so willing to save the family that never really wanted him," Barbas crowed in glee feeling the fear go up yet another notch among those around him.

"Shut up," Leo, Piper, Paige, and Phoebe all yelled at once. They were all fed up with the demon's penchant for singling Chris out as a target.

"My, my. Rather touchy, aren't they?" Barbas joked knowing he was pushing just the right buttons with each of them.

Chris smirked slightly at that. Barbas had a point there. Things had certainly changed among the members of his family when it concerned him and they were very touchy about the subject. He knew he shouldn't be pleased by the fact but part of him enjoyed the notion that they cared enough for the demon's words to really affect them. At least he was no longer the outcast among them and to think all it took to bring about such a change was him sacrificing his own life. He should have thought about that sooner, he mused silently. But those thoughts would have to wait. Things were not exactly falling in his family's favor at that moment. "You know that's not the best of ideas," he pointed out still breathing very raggedly.

Barbas looked at him slightly perplexed and Chris let a small smirk play upon his lips as he gathered the strength he needed to speak his mind and also reopened the mental link he shared with his younger self, sending out a silent message. "No matter how this goes, you'll end up dead in the end. It would have been a lot smarter to take off when you had the opportunity. You would have at least lived a few more years. But now you've threatened Piper. Big mistake there."

Barbas wasn't quite sure where the strength and determination the young Witchlighter was showing was coming from. He thought that he had broken the young man, or at least came very close to doing so. Oh well, there were always more knives to twist into his soul. "I wouldn't talk so brave it I were you, young one. I still know your fears."

Chris only just barely had the strength left to stand and truly did not have the strength enough to speak so he waited patiently letting Barbas' love of his own voice give him the time he needed for his younger self to follow the instructions he had mentally given him.

"Your fears of rejection might not be as prevalent on your mind right now, but what about the fear of losing your mother? Does she get to die in your arms again this time around?" The words produced the affect in all of them that Barbas had wanted. Paige and Phoebe gasped and Leo blanched as white as snow. He had heard hints of that occurrence in the vision that Barbas had showed him but nothing had prepared him to hear that she had died in her son's arms.

Wyatt had moved in close behind his brother laying a supporting hand on his shoulder and spoke words that he hoped would assure them all. "I'm afraid to bust your bubble there, Demon, but in the new future Mom very much gets to live a long life and we will not let you kill her today either."

Barbas gave them a feral grin and shook his head at the absurdity of the witch's warning. "What you think will happen in the future means nothing if I change the events of today, you know that."

Chris saw exactly what he had been waiting for in the briefest glimpse of color next to the attic door. Leo had crossed to stand slightly in front of he and Wyatt still hoping to protect them from the demon and Chris knew that Barbas could not see his hands and was grateful for the fact as he ever so slowly began to close one fist concentrating his telekinetic energy on grasping the hand that held the Athame to his mother's throat. Just as he knew he had a good telekinetic grip on it he nodded slightly sending out the silent message again. With that he yanked his hand down and to everyone's amazement Barbas' hand that was holding the Athame flew forward with the blade flying loose across the room. At the same moment it felt as if a large hand grasped him from behind and yanked him away from Piper and the demon flew backwards and to floor.

Older Wyatt seeing his opportunity and not wanting to pass it by called out to the open air. "Excalibur," and a whoosh of air flew threw the attic as the sword which had been hidden in the corner under a blanket pulled free from it's stone and flew to it's rightful master. Within seconds the Twice Blessed son had the legendary blade pressed against the demon's throat.

The younger Wyatt along with Phoebe and Paige had immediately rushed to Piper enveloping her in a hug and the youngster threw his shield up to keep them all safe from harm.

Leo had wanted to immediately rush forward to dispatch the demon but he caught the sight of Chris collapsing to his knees and instead turned to grab him. "Whoa, Chris, it's okay buddy. Just hold on. I got ya," he said lifting his son and carrying him back to the couch.

Piper had seen Chris collapse and turned quickly to her other son from the future. "Wyatt, kill that bastard."

Wyatt was only too happy to do just as his mother suggested as he lifted Excalibur ready to drive it down into the demon, which had been tormenting his family.

"Oh, but then who will save your little brother?" Barbas called stalling Wyatt's movements.

"You stupid, demon. If I kill you Dad can heal him," Wyatt said in disbelief that the demon of fear was trying something so pathetic.

Barbas held his hand up and pointed behind him towards the attic door, "Ah, but you forget that there are two versions of your brother in this timeline." They all glanced to the door and Wyatt's hand froze as he saw the younger version of his brother being shoved into the room by a Darklighter holding a crossbow to his back. "Remember, if he dies, they both die."

Older Chris who had only barely been able to keep conscious during the events that had just transpired peered around Leo who was kneeling dumbstruck before him. His younger self looked up to him with glistening eyes. "Sorry… I tried," he called out.

Chris couldn't blame his younger self. The kid had done the best he could. "It's okay, Kid. At least you saved Mom," he called back his voice sounding even weaker after the effort.

None of them had realized that it had been the small child who had yanked Barbas away from his mother telekinetically. At first he had been worried that he wouldn't be able to do it but the fear he felt for his mother and the urging from his older self had given him the courage to try and he had been very pleased when it worked. Well at least pleased until the Darklighter black orbed in behind him. That hadn't been part of the plan at all.

Older Wyatt, realizing just how helpless his younger brother's situation was removed Excalibur from the demon's throat and backed away until he stood before the couch again partway shielding the older version of Chris as he held the sword ever ready at his side.

Barbas picked himself up off the floor and strode over to where the Darklighter was holding the small child and reached down taking the boy's chin in his hand pulling his face up so he could look him in the eye. "That was… unexpected, young one," he said smiling appreciatively at the power the small child had just exhibited. "I might have use for you yet."

"Don't touch my son," Leo growled standing and started moving forward. Wyatt had enough sense to grasp his father's shoulder and hold him back fearing what the demon would do.

Barbas turned again to face the adults and nodded a few times as a new plan formed in his head. He casually walked a few feet forward his head bowed in thought and then a small chuckle left his mouth. "This could work out a lot better than I originally planned," he said almost half to himself but all of them had heard him and the statement made each of them cringe. "I'm assuming that you all wish that both of the children remain alive and safe."

"Now what gave you that idea?" Paige quipped in sarcasm.

Barbas ignored the statement and went on speaking. "Well I can assure you all of their safety under one condition."

Piper glared at the demon and remarked, "Oh I bet you can."

"If you allow me to leave this home with both of the younger versions of your sons I can assure you that they both will live very long and healthy lives," he stated happily imagining grooming both of the children in his evil image.

The words "No way," "Never," and "Over my dead body," streaked through the attic as the entire family as a whole rejected the idea.

Barbas did not allow this to deter him though as he added a few quite words to the conversation. "If I leave here without them, I leave behind two dead bodies belonging to the same person." Those words silenced the entire room as the Darklighter pushed even harder against little Chris' back.

Chris shared a look with his younger self that said volumes and the small boy sniffled slightly and took a deep breath knowing what was expected of him. He knew that his older self was too weak to continue the fight and it was up to him to do so. "Wyatt, take Mommy and the Aunts and orb 'up there'," he called in such a small voice that was attempting to be stronger than it sounded.

The entire family blinked at the youngster's words and both versions of Wyatt shook their heads vehemently. "No!" they said at the same time.

The young child looked again at his older version sensing his thoughts and nodded. "This has got to end." He motioned to his older self and continued. "We are both tired and just want it to be over without anyone else getting hurt."

Older Wyatt stared back to his brother who was lying silently on the couch and realized that he child's words were coming from his heart. "No, Chris. I won't let you sacrifice yourself again for me."

The young voice spoke up again behind him. "He can't talk to you anymore, Wyatt. He's too weak. But he wants you to know how much it means to him for you to come here and be with him, but he still thinks you are a fool for doing it."

Wyatt's eyes did not leave those of his dying brother as he saw all the regret there mixed with the pain of everything he had suffered through his life.

A sob left Piper's mouth as she realized that time had finally run out for them. They were at a standstill and no matter how much they loved Chris; they couldn't send both of their boys away to become evil. But what else could they do?

"I'll tell you what. I'll make the decision easier for you," Barbas said making up his mind on something that he had been debating for several long minutes as they spoke. "As a sign of good faith, to prove that I don't want to harm your children, I'll even save your son." With those words the Demon of Fear waved his hand through the air and the Athame that had earlier flown from his hand came flying back to him. He then whispered a few quiet words in a language they did not understand and the Athame burst into flames and within seconds had disintegrated into mere ash.

After several seconds of staring in awe at the sight Leo turned back to Chris kneeling quickly and placed his hands above his chest letting his healing powers flow into his son. At first he wasn't sure it would work but then he felt the tide turn and Chris suddenly took a deep breath that wasn't choked with his own blood. After just a few more seconds he sat up quickly grasping his chest as his eyes widened in wonder. The pain and most of the weakness was gone. He still felt shaky from the long painful hours he had spent but he knew without a doubt that he would certainly live.

"Chris?" Leo asked softly still worried that his son would still somehow die before his eyes.

Chris looked to him and nodded silently assuring him that he would indeed make it.

"See, I can be benevolent at times. You now have both of your sons alive and well. But if you want to keep the youngest that way, you shall send them with me," Barbas demanded knowing they could not deny him. "I will not wait forever for your decision."

Chris stood still shaking slightly. Leo and Wyatt both reached out steadying him as he stepped between them and out in front to face the demon, who had been tormenting him for weeks. "No deal," he called in a voice that was much stronger than he felt.

"Chris, no!" Piper called shaking her head in fear that his rash words would get he and his younger self killed.

The younger version of Wyatt glanced up at his mom and saw the fear clearly written across her face then he looked to his little brother who just stood still staring up at his older self. He couldn't just sit back and watch his little brother die. He could never accept that in a million years. So with one last glance at his mother he moved forward and his shield dropped.

Piper's first reaction was to grab her son and stop what he was doing but his older-self called out to her. "Don't, Mom."

Chris' eyes widened in fear as he saw what the younger Wyatt was doing and he immediately moved forward to stop him. But he felt strong arms grasp him from behind as Wyatt tried to hold him back. "What the hell are you doing? Wyatt shield," he yelled hoping the boys instincts would kick in as they had when he was a baby, but they didn't and he didn't even glance at him as he walked by towards the demon holding his brother.

"Chris, just let him go," Wyatt tried to calm his brother pulling him backwards holding both his arms to his sides and speaking softly into his ear.

Chris turned his face and could see the sad acceptance in his brother's eyes then he turned to Leo who was only a few inches from him. "Leo, stop him," he yelled hoping the Elder would have enough good sense to end this, but when he saw him look down almost in shame he couldn't believe his eyes. "Dad, please!" he begged him trying the one thing he thought would get through to the man, using the term of affection he knew would touch the man's heart.

Leo looked up at that and tears sprung from his eyes. "I can't, Chris. I can't lose you," he whispered.

Chris' heart constricted at the words and he suddenly had the urge to collapse in tears but he knew he couldn't let the sentiment deter him from saving his brother. "He'll turn them both evil," his voice came out as a half sob realizing he had no chance of stopping what was happening.

Piper had turned away from the scene with her face buried in her youngest sister's shoulder. She could see just what Leo and Wyatt were doing and she understood it was necessary but it still hurt like hell to watch her sons being taken away by the demon. Phoebe though was concentrating on the argument before her. "Chris, don't you see? If he takes them, there will still be a chance to get them back, to save them. He doesn't want them dead. But if he kills little you, that's it. That's final and we can't fix that. At least this way there is still a chance." She didn't care that Barbas heard her words. It was obvious that they would try to find the children, so there was nothing to hide, but she had to convince her nephew that he meant too much to risk again.

Chris looked to each of them and knew that they all agreed. They would not risk his life again, no matter what position that placed the children in. How had things changed so much, he wondered? How had they gone from hating him one day to being willing to risk everything to save him the next? He knew that the thought should please him. It should have made him the happiest person alive but the only thing he felt was utter failure. He had failed again, and made things even worse this time around.

He stopped struggling against his brother's grip and leaned back into the comfort of his embrace as he watched little Wyatt step up next to Barbas who had backed away next to little Chris. The demon laid a hand on each of the children's shoulders and shimmered out leaving the Darklighter behind. They heard the demon's parting words ring throughout the attic with one passing comment. "Just to keep you busy for a little bit." With that the Darklighter pulled the trigger on the crossbow and a black fletched arrow sailed through the air and embedded itself in Leo's chest. Piper had swung at the words and only seconds too late threw her hands up blowing the Darklighter into millions of pieces.

Wyatt let go of Chris and both young men grabbed Leo as he began to sink to the floor staring down at the arrow that had ripped through his body and now was sending deadly poison into the tissue surrounding his heart. They managed to get him onto the couch and Wyatt was about to rip the arrow from his chest when Piper stilled his hand. "You can't touch that. Let me."

Wyatt had almost forgotten in his fear that he being half Whitelighter was just as susceptible as his father was to the poison. He nodded and waited as Piper attempted to pull the arrow free.

Chris was staring slightly in shock at the blood pouring from the chest wound. In all of his days he had never actually seen Leo wounded so seriously. There had been a few times in his original timeline when a Darklighter arrow had pierced his arm or a leg but never so close to his heart before, and for the first time he could remember, he feared the idea of the man actually dying.

Paige turned angrily and spotted the Seer basically hiding in a corner trying not to draw attention to herself. "You said we could change this."

None of them turned at her words but they all heard them and the Seer's answer. "Yes you could have, if Leo had chosen not to come here tonight."

Phoebe turned at that and her face wore a mask of confusion. "What are you two talking about?"

Piper could hear the words but she was trying to block them out as she worked desperately to remove the arrow, which seemed to be stuck on something. She could see the pain she was causing her husband with the attempt to remove it but her heart began to race in fear as she realized that it wasn't coming out. "I can't get it out," she cried still desperately tugging on the shaft.

The Seer ignored Piper's words. She already knew they were coming. "Leo knew this would be the outcome if he came here tonight. It was his decision."

Piper whirled around at those words. "What do you mean?" She couldn't mean that… No Leo couldn't…

"Piper, hon," Paige started as tears came to her eyes and spilled down her cheeks, "In the vision we saw we couldn't get the arrow out. Leo didn't make it."

Piper's eyes widened in disbelief and her mouth dropped. She whirled back around and saw her husband's sorrowful expression. He knew. He knew he was gonna die. "No, you can't."

Wyatt reached out his trembling hands letting the healing touch flow into his father. He knew with the arrow still embedded in his chest that the healing would only extend his life for a short time. It couldn't save him.

Chris couldn't move. This couldn't be real. There was no way that Leo had just sacrificed himself for… oh god, for him. He had come back to the attic so he could try to save him. He knew he would die if he did, but he still came. Earlier he had thought he was only fooling himself into believing that Leo cared for him but now, how could he deny it?

He was kneeling on the floor next to Leo's knee and he reached out taking the man's hand grasping it tightly as tears began to form in the corners of his eyes. "Why?" he whispered gaining the Elder's attention.

Leo turned his head to face Chris and felt the hand gripping his own. He had heard the soft question and there were so many reasons he could have given but two came to the forefront of his mind immediately. "I love my son, Chris, and I couldn't let you down again," he whispered remembering the vision of Chris plummeting from the bridge. "Not like he did."

Chris was confused by what 'he' Leo was referring to and the questioning look he gave him urged Leo to continue. "Not like the man who should have been your father in the future. I won't be that man. I won't let anger destroy someone I should have loved all along."

Chris' face blanched white with that and the tears he had been holding back broke free. He let his head sink down to rest on top of his father's knee as all of the pent up emotions concerning the man broke free and his body began to shake from the silent sobs he couldn't hold back. Never a day had gone by in his timeline that he didn't want to hear those words from Leo. He would never had admitted it to anyone else and especially not to Leo himself but he had wanted Leo to be his father. Every time he watched Leo with Wyatt he had longed to be able to feel like he belonged to someone like the father and son belonged to each other, but he had always felt as if it was just a dream. He couldn't ever belong. He had always been on the outside looking in, but not anymore. Leo wanted him to be his son. He wanted to care for Chris. No he did care for Chris already, and he was about to lose that. Within moments he will have lost the one thing he always wanted more than anything else in the world.

Leo pulled his hand from Chris' grasp and rested it on top of his head running his fingers through his hair wanting so much to hold his son, but knowing he'd never be able to. "Chris, I'm sorry I can't be there for you," he said as his voice became even weaker.

Piper had backed away from them and had turned her head into Phoebe's shoulder not wanting to see her husband slowly slip away. Paige had also sought comfort from her sisters as she wrapped her arms around them both and cried right along with them. She couldn't watch this happen again. She had seen it in the vision but had been confident that Leo knew how to change it. Nothing had prepared her for the fact that he might not even try.

Chris pulled his head up and his father could see the red-rimmed eyes shining with such longing but also with a very strong determination that surprised him. "I won't accept that," he whispered reaching his hand palm up in front of him and whispering one single word. "Arrow."

Blue and white orbs surrounded the projectile as it simple disappeared from Leo's chest and then reformed in Chris' hand. Chris flung the sharp object away and winced as the sharp point scraped across his skin. He knew he'd have to be healed but that didn't matter right then. "Heal him," he demanded of his brother who was staring in awe at what his brother had just done.

"Why didn't I think of that?" Wyatt asked as his hands sought the wound and began to glow brightly as it closed and he felt the poison receding from his father's body ever so slowly.

It took several moments to complete the healing in which time Chris' hand had started to become numb and he could feel cold chills from the deadly poison shooting up his arm. This had been a particularly strong Darklighter poison that was meant to paralyze the victim before killing him. It would not have been an easy death for his father.

The moment Leo was completely healed he reached out and grasped Chris' hand fearing that his contact with the arrow had harmed him also. When he felt the warm healing glow flow from his fingers he was not at all surprised. "That was a very dangerous stunt," he bit out more in fear than anger at his youngest son.

Chris just gave him a small smile as the healing glow faded away. He didn't pull away from Leo's grasp and Leo didn't let go for several long seconds. He finally reached up with his other hand and placed it on Chris' shoulder squeezing slightly. "Thank you, Son."

Chris nodded again and stood clearing his voice. He knew he needed some space if he was ever to regain his composure. "We have work to do."

* * *

_A/N: Alrighty then. I do realize that there are probably a couple of you who are screaming at me for not letting Leo die. Sorry. I couldn't give him to Chris and then just take him away like that. I am not even that cruel. I had originally planned on having Piper make some sort of sacrifice for her son but since she and Chris are already on decent terms I decided to give that honor to Leo. It just felt better. So are the family forgiven yet? You guys tell me._


	17. Nothing's Changed

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N:** Hmm, I think I'll post this chapter and then hide. Some of you will like it and others of you will hate it. But I can't please everyone, now can I?

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**Chapter 17 Nothing's Changed**

How had things gotten so messed up? Everything was working out so well and then all of sudden boom, they were right back to square one. Well worse than square one actually. Now he not only had to worry about his brother becoming evil but he'd have to worry about himself also. Part of him didn't believe that there was any way in hell that he'd be turned. His younger self knew what was at stake and what Barbas wanted. Wouldn't he fight with everything he had to stay good? Chris certainly hoped so. But that was asking a lot of a little kid.

Then there was his family. He wanted so desperately to blame them for everything that had went wrong. They were the ones that let Wyatt go. Wasn't there another way? Couldn't they have done something else? Yeah, they could have. They could have let him die. What a choice that was.

He growled in frustration as he paced the attic floor again trying to sense either of the children. Somehow Barbas was blocking that power and none of them had been able to do so yet.

Paige was trying to scry for the youngsters and Phoebe was working on a 'to call a lost witch' spell, neither of which seemed to be accomplishing their goal either.

Leo and Wyatt were standing in the corner speaking in hushed whispers going over ideas on how to vanquish Barbas once they found him and Piper was nearby trying to convince the Seer to have another vision. Chris felt slightly sorry for the demon, who was clutching the side of her head as if she had a splitting headache. And considering the fact that Piper was badgering her mercilessly it wouldn't surprise him if she did.

"This is not as easy as it looks, Witch," the Seer stated angrily as she pulled her hands away from her temples. "You are asking me to conjure a vision without the use of my seeing pool. I can normally do it, but it's just not as easy without it."

"Fine, Leo, bring her seeing pool here," Piper called out in frustration.

Everyone in the attic looked up at that and she received several strange looks. Paige was the first to respond though. "Piper, the basin that pool rests in is solid rock and probably weighs close to a ton. Are you planning on redecorating the house when you put in the new floor?"

Piper's eyes narrowed in aggravation, "Fine. I wasn't thinking straight."

Leo crossed over to his wife and wrapped her in a tight hug. "It's okay, honey. We are all under stress here." He turned to the Seer then. "If you think you can really get an image we can take you to your chambers. But this better not be a trap."

The Seer rolled her eyes at that. "Always so suspicious. Have I led you wrong yet?"

"There was the Darklighter welcoming party the last time we visited your home," Paige pointed out as she rolled up the map she was using and prepared to travel with them to the underworld.

"I told you, I had nothing to do with that," the demon piped up in a plaintive voice.

"Wyatt, bring Excalibur," Piper suggested giving the Seer a dangerous glance.

"Fine, let's just get this over with," the Seer said rather petulantly and shimmered away. She knew that Leo, Paige and Chris could all find their way back to the chambers now that they'd been there before.

Leo took Piper and Wyatt's hands and orbed them down to the underworld while Paige took Phoebe. Chris still feeling a little uneasy about the whole family thing went by himself.

Once they appeared they were rather pleased not to find any surprises waiting for them. The Seer was standing next to her basin and staring into the image she had just conjured. She wore a strained look as it played out before her.

"Well?" Paige asked impatiently.

"It looks like the best I can do is tell you where he'll be in about two hours," she answered still with a perplexed look on her face.

"How can you pinpoint a time? You told me earlier that it was not a precise thing," Leo asked suspiciously.

"Because there is a clock in the image," she answered rolling her eyes at the Elder.

"Okay, we know where he'll be and when to look for him there, so why do you look so upset?" Chris asked seeing just how tense the demon had become.

She looked up at Chris and smiled slightly. At least one of them was perceptive enough to catch it. "Because I don't know where this is." With that she motioned down to the image. "I've never seen this place before."

They all moved in close to the pool and watched the image of the Demon of Fear. He had both boys with him in what looked like some sort of office and he was staring at something next to the wall, which was covered with a curtain.

"That looks familiar for some reason," Leo muttered feeling as if he should know the place.

The sisters all just stared down at the image with blank stares. None of them recognized it either. Chris also couldn't recall what the place was but for some reason he felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Wyatt had remained very still and very quiet but had started shaking his head back and forth at the image. "No, it can't be. That should have been destroyed years ago."

"You recognize that place, Wyatt?" Leo asked anxiously.

"Yeah, all of you really should too, but thanks to the Elders you don't," he commented his voice full of anger as he almost spat the word Elders out.

"What?" Piper asked in confusion.

Wyatt looked down and sighed heavily. "It's a really long story and I hadn't planned on bringing it up until everything was fixed."

"Well by the looks of that grandfather clock in the image I'd say we have nearly two hours, so I suggest you start talking, young man," Phoebe piped up. She could feel the emotional turmoil that her oldest nephew felt as he thought about whatever it was that he had been holding back from them.

Wyatt stared for a moment at Chris and a sad look crossed his face. Would his brother be up to hearing all of this right now? He certainly hoped so.

"I told you that the Athame that Barbas used on Chris was blessed by an Elder who died seven years ago. That office used to belong to that particular Elder and it's at Magic School," Wyatt began to explain.

"Magic School?" Paige asked her face holding a look of confusion.

Leo's eyes widened. "Yeah, I remember now. Magical children used to go there to study but for some reason the Elders closed it down a few years ago. I never could figure out why. I had actually thought about suggesting that we send Wyatt there but it didn't last that long."

"Well, in my changed future Chris and I will both eventually go there after Paige reopens it," Wyatt stated rather matter-of-factly. "But that's not important right now."

Paige was about to comment on her running a magic school but the look her nephew wore stopped her. There was something eating at him and it worried her to see it. "What is important, Wyatt?"

So Wyatt continued. "I don't know how to go into all of this. It's so complicated. None of us would have ever known about any of it if the Seer here hadn't come to us when I was about twelve and asked for our help. She showed us a lot of stuff that the Elders never wanted us to know."

"What didn't the Elders want us to know?" Piper asked glancing at Leo.

Chris' mouth suddenly went very dry and he felt a sick feeling creeping up his spine. Whatever his brother was trying to tell them directly affected him and he knew it, and whatever it was would change his life forever. He wasn't sure how he knew, but he did.

"The truth about Chris," Wyatt answered staring at his brother with eyes full of sadness. "And about Gideon."

Once the name was spoken aloud Chris felt a sudden sense of vertigo and he stepped back and closed his eyes as thoughts began to pour into his mind. Thoughts and memories that seemed both familiar but also very alien to him.

Wyatt could see the distress his brother was in and hurried around the basin grabbing his arm. "Sorry, Chris. I forgot, this is how you reacted when she first told us about it too."

"What's wrong?" Piper asked also moving forward as her son leaned back against the cavern wall concern written clearly across her face.

"He's gaining a whole new set of memories. Memories from the first time a version of him traveled back through time," Wyatt explained kneeling in front of his brother who had went completely white as if he'd seen a ghost.

"The first time. What do you mean, Wyatt?" Phoebe asked as the rest of the family gathered around Chris who had leaned over and was clutching his knees as the memories all played through his head. Tears had started streaming from his eyes and he had begun to shake uncontrollably.

"Chris, maybe you should sit down," Leo suggested moving to his son's other side and gently taking his elbow in his hand. Chris had only barely heard him and allowed his father to help him to sit on the rock floor. He wore the look of someone who was only half there as his mind worked to process too much new information.

"I don't understand. Why would Chris be getting new memories? He always acted as if he knew most of what happened to him in the other times." Phoebe asked very worried by the distant look on her nephew's face.

"These memories are different. Most of them occurred before he was even born," Wyatt tried to explain. They had all figured it out together in the future that Wyatt was from. During the time that the new memories were from Chris wasn't even born yet but he still had gained all of those memories but they were locked deep inside his mind, too much for a newborn or even a child to process. So they had lain dormant for years until they were triggered by the name Gideon.

"Barbas wasn't the one who turned you," Chris whispered still locked in the memories but hearing his brother's voice anyway.

"No, Chris, the first time around it wasn't Barbas. Oh he helped. He blessed the Athame that brought my shield down but it was Gideon who was behind it all. He was afraid of me, of what I'd become, so he tried to kill me when I was just a toddler. But you came back in time and warned them. Dad stopped it from happening and killed Gideon," Wyatt said his voice full of love for the brother who had repeatedly done everything possible to save him.

Chris looked over to Wyatt and for the first time really looked at him since the memories had begun. "I died again, didn't I?"

These words brought a strangled sob from Piper. How many times would her son have to die before fate let him live a normal life?

Wyatt nodded and his head sunk feeling the pain of losing his brother all over again.

Chris looked around to everyone else surrounding them and his eyes landed on his father. "Dad was there, and Aunt Paige. They were crying."

Wyatt looked to his father and knew his words would hurt the man. "Yes, Chris, you died in Dad's arms and then your body just disappeared."

Piper sunk to the floor on her knees and felt all of the energy leave her. "Where was I? Why wasn't I there? I should have been there for him?"

Chris looked to his mother and a confused look passed over his face. "You were in the hospital, having a baby."

"What?" Piper's voice squeaked. "I think I'd remember having a baby several years ago."

Wyatt stood and paced over to the basin staring down into the vision it was showing. Somehow it had picked up on the memories going through his brother's head and he could see the cruel visage of an Elder that should have been their friend, but ended up being their worst betrayer. "You would remember it if the cleaners hadn't erased it all from your memories along with everything surrounding Gideon and the baby."

"They did what?" Piper seethed in anger. She gave Leo a look that clearly said he was dead if he knew anything about it.

Leo looked at her in complete shock. "I don't have any of those memories either."

Wyatt whirled around and faced them all. "An Elder betrayed our family. He was Dad's closest friend and mentor and once the other Elder's realized what he did, they erased everything about him from all of our memories and they also erased everything about Chris from our memories since Gideon killed him. They were ashamed and wanted to hide what had happened."

"But my baby," Piper said still thinking about the child that had been lost to her.

Wyatt looked pointedly at Chris. "Was not completely erased. But instead the demon members of the Tribunal secreted him away in the underworld, to be raised by demons himself, so he could be used as a weapon against you someday. But their plan backfired and he was found by three witches who fell very much in love with the small boy, as well they should have considering he belonged to them in the first place."

They all turned back to Chris who sat staring at his knees. The memories were all there. His original life growing up as a Halliwell and his mother and aunts dying and Wyatt turning evil. The first time he decided to go back through time to save his brother. The secrets he kept that time around also. Bianca's death. Aunt Phoebe discovering who he was on a vision quest. Trying to get his parents to hook up so he could be conceived. His mother's reaction when she learned he was hers. The fight with Leo while he was possessed by the Spider Demon. Forgiving his father. Gideon stabbing him with the Athame. Dying. Always dying.

"By the way, today's your birthday, Chris. Seven years old in this timeline. Twenty-three in ours," Wyatt added knowing how irrelevant the fact was but unable to keep his mouth shut as he watched so many emotions play over his brother's face.

Chris hadn't looked up from his knees yet as his mind still whirled through all of the new information he possessed. "Hmm, maybe I'll make it past twenty-three this time. Wouldn't that be a great birthday gift?" With this Chris started to chuckle and began to wonder if maybe all of this information was just too much for him to handle this time. Surely one mind could only withstand so much.

The entire family was still reeling from the newest revelation about their youngest family member but his words served to jar some sense into at least one of them. Leo reached out and laid one hand on his son's knee. "Chris, listen. I know this is a lot for you. You've gone through too much already and all of this isn't helping you any. I promise you that once this is over and you and your brother are both back home safe that you can take as much time as you need to work through all of this and we'll all be there for you."

Chris looked up to his father and knew without a doubt that he meant those words and he most certainly agreed that he'd need time and a lot of it.

Piper too had begun to come to her senses as she stared at her grown son but she realized that there was one thing that he probably needed to hear most right then. "Chris, you need to know that this doesn't change anything really."

Chris looked at her in confusion. Wouldn't knowing that she gave birth to him mean that she felt a stronger link to him? That's at least what he would have thought.

She reached out and gently stroked his cheek staring into those expressive green eyes that she had thought on a few occasions reminded her of Leo's. "Chris, I can't love you anymore than I already did before I learned the truth, because I already loved you more than words can ever describe. The only difference I can really see is that I want my memories back so I can have more memories of the time I got to spend with you before."

Chris swallowed hard hearing her words. He hadn't really thought about how this would affect their relationship or how his new memories might make them feel but those memories did contain some good times. Like the look on her face the first time he called her Mom or the way it felt when she hugged him and told him she loved him. He had let them love him that time around. Even his father, who had went so far as to bust him out of jail. And Paige and Phoebe had done everything they could to make sure that he had been conceived. "I want you to remember it too, Mom," he whispered knowing that she'd still love him just as much once she did.

Phoebe and Paige had also moved closer so they could try to assure their nephew of his place in there family. "Me too. I want to know how different things were that time around. What did we do when you told us who you were?" Phoebe agreed wondering if they had treated him any different than they had this time around.

Chris had to smile at that. Would they be surprised to know the truth? "I hate to admit it but I didn't tell you who I was that time around either. You actually figured it out on a vision quest, Phoebe."

"That figures," Paige piped up and then couldn't help adding a dig into the conversation. "Well at least we now know where he got that neurotic streak of his," Paige commented staring pointedly at Piper.

Piper swung around and looked at her sister giving her a dirty look. "That means you must be the source of all the sarcasm."

Paige smiled proudly at that thought. At least he got one thing from her. "Well there is one thing we know he didn't get from Phoebe," she added smiling at her middle sister.

Phoebe gave her a questioning look and Chris couldn't help answering that one himself. "I can keep a secret."

"Ha, ha… Very funny, future boy," Phoebe came back turning and walking back towards the Seer's pool.

The Seer had been watching all of this and was ready to gag from the whole family togetherness thing but she knew better than to interrupt them. So instead she watched the image in the pool, which had reverted back to the one of Barbas and the children. Something about the vision struck her as strange. He was speaking to the children and motioning to the item behind the curtain. After a few moments he reached up and pulled the curtain down and the picture before her became even stranger than it had been before. "Not to break up the little family reunion or anything but would one of you future heroes mind looking at this and telling my what is going on."

Even though he felt a little on the shaky side Chris needed to know what was in the vision that was bothering her, so he stood and joined his brother at the seeing pool. They both looked into the water and neither spoke for several long moments as looks of dread crossed their faces, then finally Piper couldn't stand the suspense. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Chris and Wyatt stared to each other and everyone could see the look they shared and none of them liked it. "Chris, if he does what I think he's gonna do, what happens to us?"

Chris stayed silent for a moment as he thought of the only logical way that this could turn out. "Well, Wyatt, if that's the case I hope you enjoy living in a world of evil with the Demon of Hope as your mentor. I personally would rather go back to when I was dying."

* * *

_A/N: Da, da, da, evil cliffhanger. Guess I should have warned every one of that. All right, I must first apologize to Marcus, who at this moment is very politely cursing the entire Halliwell family except for Chris, all because I went ahead and made him a Halliwell. Yeah, I know, they don't deserve him. But I couldn't not do it. I mean how many Whitelighter/Witch couples are there really? And he looks like Leo and Piper. Just remember not all Halliwells are lamebrains. Look at Grams and Prue._

_And for Euge who guessed this was gonna happen quite a few chapters ago, congrats on figuring it out. I did sort of change the way I planned on doing it, but I think this works out better. So how many of you know exactly what Chris and Wyatt are referring to at the end of this chapter?_


	18. Alternate Reality

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N**: Wow what a reaction to that last chapter. I was a little bit surprised. I figured everybody would hate the idea of Chris really being a Halliwell. But I'm glad that most of you liked it. Anyhow, I'm having a hard time trying to decide what all to do with this new plot bunny that bit me, so have patience while I feel it out slowly, okay.

Sorry it has taken so long to update. First I got sick, then I got a new computer, which was not easy to set up, then I sprained my wrist lifting my old computer, and I'm still sick. Long story short, I just feel like I've been bludgeoned into incapacity.

* * *

**Chapter 18 Alternate Reality**

"The Demon of What?" Paige asked incredulously.

"Dad destroyed that mirror. It shouldn't even exist anymore," Wyatt said still staring at the image before him in the pool, not even realizing that his aunt had spoken.

"Well apparently when the Cleaners did their thing they undid that too," Chris answered bitterly. "Of all the stupid things to fix."

"Can one of you please explain to us what you are talking about," Piper asked hearing the concern in her sons' voices but not at all following the path of their words.

Wyatt turned to his mother realizing that they were confusing the heck out of their family. "Sorry, Mom. That mirror is a portal to an alternate universe, one where everything is opposite to our own. Good and evil are reversed. In Chris' original timeline Gideon and his evil counterpart cooked up a scheme to get Dad and Chris out of the way by sending them into that universe, in the meantime you were busy having a baby and Phoebe and Paige went after Chris and Dad. That left me unprotected long enough for Gideon to try to kill me."

Piper swallowed very hard thinking about a defenseless baby Wyatt trying to protect himself from an Elder out to murder him. How had they let things get that messed up?

But Phoebe was concentrating on a different part of the statement. "Wait, are you saying that there are evil versions of us on the other side of that mirror?" she asked not at all liking the sound of that.

"Yeah, there are. And right now they are probably having this same conversation that we are. Everything is parallel, unless both versions somehow end up on the same plain. That is bad news. It happened last time with some help from Gideon and the world was turned upside down. Mom and baby Chris both nearly died because of it," Wyatt knew it was a lot of information for them to digest but they were running out of time and he couldn't exactly sit down and have a long discussion about it.

Piper gasped hearing that and looked to Chris. They had nearly lost him before he was even born, and somehow, even if she couldn't remember the baby he was, that one thought frightened her more than anything. To lose a baby, was always a mother's worst fear and she was no exception to that fact. She wanted so desperately to grab Chris' arm and never let go again. Heck, for that matter grab both of her sons' arms and never let either of them go again. It seemed as if no matter what they did fate was bound and determined to take her sons away from her, and now that she truly knew who Chris was, she only wished she could hold onto both of them and never let go.

Chris had all of the memories that Wyatt spoke of but he hadn't minded letting him tell them. A lot of it was still too fresh and painful to dwell on just yet, but he realized that a warning was needed here. "Whatever happens, we have to be very careful. The last time both versions of Phoebe and Paige worked together to stop Gideon from killing Wyatt and it sent both realities into pure chaos. All of us on that side were meant to be evil, just as we here are meant to be good. We can't cross the lines again."

"But what is Barbas planning and who is the Demon of Hope?" Paige asked reiterating her original question.

Leo had been standing back quietly listening to the conversation as he watched the image play out in the pool, and it had become obvious what was going to happen. "I'm guessing the Demon of Hope is Barbas' other version and right now he is in possession of the evil versions of our two sons."

"Exactly," Chris answered knowing his father could put the rest together easily.

"But if they switch the children what happens to you two?" Leo asked already thinking farther ahead than the sisters.

Chris and Wyatt shared a look that said it wasn't a good thing at all.

Piper too began to understand where they were going with this. "That's not gonna happen. We're gonna be there to stop it."

"But, Piper, it's something we have to take into consideration, to be ready for," Leo tried to reason with her hearing the panic in her voice.

"No, quit talking and start orbing. I want to be there before Barbas," Piper demanded ready to go rescue her children.

Chris could see just how belligerent Piper was becoming. She wasn't ready to accept anything that meant her children wouldn't be with her and it was clouding her judgment. So he walked around the basin so he could stand next to her. He took her hands and turned her to face him. "Mom, listen to me. We can't get there before Barbas. He'll sense us there and never show up if we do. That will not get us any closer to saving your sons."

Piper had to admit that she enjoyed the fact that her newfound son wanted to be near her and he was so willing to accept her as his mother, but she felt so much despair as she looked into the seeing pool and saw the younger versions of her sons in the clutches of a monster. "But, we can't just wait and do nothing."

Chris saw how his mother's gaze was drawn to the image of her small children and knew how much this had to be tearing her up inside. He was still slightly reeling from all of the new memories he had gained but his heart still reached out to her as it always had in every timeline he lived through and he couldn't bear to see her in such pain. "We are not going to just do nothing. Wyatt and Le… Dad are going to come up with a plan to stop Barbas. Paige and Phoebe are gonna watch that image to make sure that nothing changes until it's time for us to go there. And you and I are going to go over here and sit down. I'm still having some problems dealing with all the new memories and I need someone to talk to about them." It was an out and out lie and he knew it. He would have much rather put them, along with the rest of his memories, to the back of his mind to deal with later when he really had time to sort through his emotions but he knew she wouldn't turn down a request to help one of her children, no matter what. And it was best for all of them if Piper was in a better emotional state once they faced Barbas.

Leo had heard his son almost slip and call him Leo again. That in itself told him that they still had some issues to work through but for now he was just grateful that Chris was willing to help his mother deal with her own fragile state of mind. He watched as Chris guided Piper away from the pool and sat her down on a stone bench several feet away, taking the seat next to her, while never letting go of her hands. For just a moment Leo locked eyes with his son and gave him a half smile and mouthed the words 'thank you'. Chris nodded and Leo could see how much doing this weighed on him by the weary look in his eyes. He vowed then to make sure Chris had all the support he needed once this was over to deal with his own pain. His son had to be his first priority, no matter what.

Phoebe could feel emotions running high around the room and was trying her best to block them out. She loved her family very dearly but at times like these it was pure hell on her sense of empathy. The longer the children were missing the more Piper became upset. And Leo still felt so much guilt, which she had to admit, he did slightly deserve part of, but still the man had been willing to die for even the slightest chance to save his son. That was more than most fathers could boast. And Chris, my god he was completely overwhelmed. There was no disguising that. He had gone through so much and learned way too much for most people to accept. But look at him. He was accepting it and not only that, was working towards helping his mother get through this also. Talk about amazing. Paige and Wyatt were both feeling close to the same thing, extreme worry. And Fear. Fear was the most prevalent feeling amongst them all. And why wouldn't it be? With the Demon of Fear orchestrating their lives for the moment.

Then there was Phoebe herself. A lot of the time whenever emotions were running so high in her family it was very difficult to differentiate between their emotions and her own. Today was certainly no exception. She still felt guilt over all of the horrible things they had done to Chris in this time, even if she hadn't been as vocal about it as the others, she still had said some things that were completely uncalled for. But that wasn't what her guilt mainly consisted of. No she felt guilty because she had known that Chris was in trouble. Deep down she had felt that something wasn't right about their Whitelighter's emotions. On some level she had known how much pain he was in, and she had done nothing at all about it. Oh, she had defended him a time or two against the others but only halfheartedly. She hadn't wanted to risk angering her family to take the part of an outsider. Boy, had she been way off. Chris never was an outsider, or at least he never should have been.

She had been trying to sort through her own crazy mixed up emotions but was also doing just as Chris had suggested she and Paige do. Watching the horrible image of Barbas with her two young nephews. Everything about that image disturbed her and made her blood boil. She watched as Barbas stood with one hand clutching Chris' shoulder knowing that Wyatt would never dare to try to escape without his little brother.

The demon leaned over and whispered something in the youngest child's ear and Phoebe could see how the child flinched at the words. Her heart clenched in agony at the sight. Her nephew looked so small and fragile next to the demon towering over him.

But nothing at all was changing in the image. There were the two boys standing one on each side of Barbas, and the mirror was before them. Reflected in the mirror was Barbas' altered version dressed all in white and smiling benevolently and on either side of him stood two little boys that were very familiar but also very different than her nephews. Wyatt looked sullen and his eyes held a glint of anger that she had never seen in their version of the child. His blonde hair, instead of gleaming with hints of sunshine, was darker and seemed to be oiled so it would lay flatter upon his head. Their version of Chris had soft brown shoulder-length hair that often times hung in front of his eyes and the look on his face, though a lot of the time was too deep for a child of his age, always held a glint of sweet innocence. But the version of Chris on the other side of that mirror looked cold and calloused way beyond his age, with not hints of compassion or innocents left. His hair was a few inches longer and hung in waves down his back. Both boys wore nothing but black and the sight of them left her feeling cold and heartbroken.

She had to look away from those faces, so filled with hate and malcontent. They were not the faces of the nephews she loved so dearly. So instead she concentrated on the items around the room. She could see a dark mahogany desk with several papers and books that were now covered in dust from the years of abandonment the school had suffered. There were many items in the office that she did not recognize from her own life but none of them truly drew her attention until her eyes lit on the grandfather clock standing just to the left of the mirror. It was an ornately designed piece and the intricate carvings were fascinating to say the least. The glass front was clouded slightly with the dust that covered everything else present but she could still see the pendulum hanging in its rightful place, still holding a gleam of the golden metal it was carved from. But wait. Hanging very still, without even the slightest movement. She then glanced to the hands that would circle the face of the clock and her heart stilled. It hadn't changed at all as the image proceeded. "We have a problem," she called out gaining the complete attention of everyone in the cavern. She glanced up from the image. "The clock hands aren't moving. The pendulum isn't swinging."

Chris and Piper both stood and crossed back to the seeing pool as Leo and Wyatt moved forward also wanting to confirm what she said.

The Seer who had been standing next to the wall didn't move but glanced nervously in their direction. She hadn't thought about that.

"Oh hell, we have no way of knowing when this will happen," Wyatt pointed out motioning to the image.

"It could be happening right now for all we know," Leo suggested.

"Or it might have already happened," Paige added.

"No, we'd know if that was the case," Chris said imagining what would happen. It wasn't an idea he was particularly fond of.

"Well do we go now or stand around discussing it?" Piper asked trying to get her family to act.

Chris nodded and grabbed his mother's hand again, ready to orb them to magic school. Leo and Wyatt each took one of the other sisters' hands and they all started to form into orbs.

As they began to reform Piper looked towards Chris and a startling thing happened. Instead of staring into the caring face of her youngest son her eyes focused on a very different person and as she glanced around them she could see the leftover traces of black orbs dissipating into nothingness.

She stepped back immediately from the dark figure, who moments ago had been the smiling, loving image of her son. Now all she could see was a disgusted sneer on his face, accompanied by darker wavy hair, an eyebrow ring, and dark clothing. And even worse he held a darklighter bow clutched in his hand. "Oh my god, Chris!"

The darklighter bow came up defensively but, to her surprise, he did not pull the trigger. She heard a gasp to her left and swung her head around to see Paige backing away from Wyatt, whom she could see matched Chris' dark features. His hair was also longer and darker and he wore all black and a dark sneer to match his brothers.

Leo and Phoebe had appeared just seconds later and Leo could be seen shaking his head. "We're too late."

Both darker versions of their sons backed away until they were near the wall, and they all could see the blank space on the wall where the mirror had been in the image, but no longer was.

"Leo, what is going on?" Paige asked as he and the sisters moved to the opposite side of the room forming a defensive group as they all stared at the two dark figures before them.

"Barbas took the mirror and he's already traded the children with their darker counterparts. Time has adjusted to reflect the change," Leo explained what he had suspected would happen if Barbas somehow managed to switch them.

Wyatt glanced at his brother. "We tried to warn them."

Chris turned to his older brother and quipped off sarcastically, "Since when do they pay attention?"

Wyatt powered up an energy ball and smiled evilly. "You think they'd get it if I did this?" With that he tossed the energy ball toward Leo.

Leo, seeing the dangerous projectile flying his way, ducked. Both of the dark beings broke into laughter, seeing the shocked look on their faces.

"What the hell? Stop that this minute, Wyatt Matthew Halliwell!" Piper demanded, her voice taking on a commanding tone.

"Kill Joy!" Wyatt said petulantly. "It isn't as if I was trying to kill him." His voice almost sounded as if he was a small child who had been scolded for something wrong. "He is an Elder, you know. It would have taken at least three of those to actually kill him."

Chris couldn't stop the small chuckle that left his lips. "Like you'd know," he said in an offhanded manner to his brother.

Wyatt looked towards his brother defensively with a biting comment. "Hey, it's not my fault that damn demon turned me good, and at least you were able to fix it. You just haven't seen the evil I'm capable of yet."

Chris nodded accepting those words. True he hadn't been back to the future yet to see how his brother had changed and honestly he was nearly dying in anticipation of seeing the evil his brother had become.

Piper turned to Leo, her face ashen, as she started to feel ill seeing what her sons could be. "Leo, where are **our** sons?"

"Well I'm assuming you mean the two versions of our son's from our universe. They are in the evil universe, probably having a very similar conversation with our evil counterparts." The thought frightened Leo to some extent. Truthfully the events of each world should mirror each other, with some minor changes, but if even one larger event ended up out of place it could start a chain reaction that would destroy both world, and fear of what could happen to his sons was beginning to overwhelm him.

* * *

_Alternate Evil Universe_

As their orbs were reforming Chris glanced to his mother and his heart froze inside his chest at what he saw. His mother, who he had always considered to be the epitome of everything good in the world was staring back at him through eyes filled with anger and a coldness that froze his very soul. As he glanced away from her eyes he took in the dark appearance of her clothing and the dark eyeliner that lined her eyes along with an overabundance of makeup that he knew his mother would usually use sparingly. "Mom?" he asked hesitantly.

"Who the hell are you?" she shot back angrily raising her hands ready to blow up the person impersonating her son.

Chris backed up and looked around the room seeing his brother reform with a very angry looking Paige next to him. She too looked like something almost out of his worst nightmares. But then when his father and Phoebe formed he knew for sure what was happening. His father had black orbed in and Phoebe reminded him of a mixture between a goth queen and punk rock star. This was not good. Not good at all. His most recently regained memories had featured these very people and there was not doub that he wasn't in the right universe anymore.

Wyatt's eyes had more than doubled in size seeing the state his family was in and he grabbed Chris' arm pulling him over near the wall where the mirror had been in the image. His shield immediately flew up surrounding he and his brother as he stared at the angry looks upon their faces. "We aren't in Kansas anymore, are we, Toto?" he piped up nervously biting his lip.

"Nope, but we knew this could happen, didn't we?" Chris answered looking over the dark beings grouping together on the far side of the room.

"Where are my sons?" Piper asked angrily into the room not caring who answered as long as she got an answer. And if she didn't get one soon there would be hell to pay for someone, she'd make sure of it.

Leo decided to answer her question. "I'm assuming they are in their world," he spit out bitterly, "That sick disgusting world of goodness that Chris told us about."

Without anyone noticing an invisible figure shimmered out of the room and into a brightly lit utopian style meadow that had been magically formed in the underworld. As he reappeared the Demon of Hope looked from side to side and saw his two prisoners. Both were imprisoned in crystal cages separated from each other. He smiled to each of the boys in a friendly manner. "I trust you are comfortable. If you have need of anything, please, you only have to ask it of me and I shall endeavor to provide your hearts desires."

"I want my brother," Chris said sadly staring through the glowing electrical field that kept him and his brother separated.

Barbas walked over next to the cage and kneeled so he was at eye level with the child. "I'm sorry, young one, but until I can trust you two not to try to run off, I'll just have to keep you separate.

The demon ran his hand in front of the child's face with the palm turned in and stared into it. "Ah, I see your greatest hopes, my child. Family. That is your one desire, but I am your family now. Once you realize and accept that you and your brother will be much happier.

"Over your dead body," Wyatt called angrily from his own cage. He had been very frightened when they stepped through that mirror but now that he'd had some time to think he knew he had to be strong for his little brother. Chris had been through too much already. In this other world he was all Chris had left to depend on and he'd be there for him, no matter what.

Barbas stood and swung around quickly. "Now, now. Is that any way for a good little boy to speak? Tsk.. tsk! You must have more respect, child."

Before Wyatt could bite out a bitter reply two very strangely dressed demons shimmered in with a third between them. Wyatt's mouth dropped open as he saw the Seer dressed in a flowing white gown that could actually be considered conservative, with a high neckline and hemline brushing the green grass at her feet. She was surrounded by two demons dressed in white business type suits that reminded him of the all white of Elderland. That in itself seemed way to strange.

Though her facial expression was one of calm she still had a distinctive squint to her eyes that told of her displeasure at being in the Demon of Hope's presence again. "Barbas."

He gave her a winning bright smile and stepped close to her leaning in close. "Did you not think that I would see your ploy to help them?"

She just stared straight ahead and fixed a look of boredom upon her face. "It was a possibility."

"Well, your days of helping them are over." With that he waved his hand and several crystals appeared at her feet imprisoning her as they had the children. "Don't think this is over."

Oh, she knew it was far from over. Barbas, as the Demon of Hope was able to see all of your hopes. Usually his role in this world was to bring hopes to fruition but whenever he was angered he could also make sure your hopes became your worst nightmares.

* * *

_A/N: All right. That's it for this chapter. As I said, sorry it took so long. A large portion of the next few chapters will rotate back and forth between the two worlds. I hope you enjoy what I've done with them._


	19. You Shouldn't Have

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N**: The beginning of this chapter is especially for Marcus, who I'm sure will love the irony of what evil Chris is about to do. You've been wanting it all along, hon. Here you go.

I also need to point out that I made a mistake in the last chapter I believe. I think I said that Evil Wyatt also black orbed into the magic school but I meant to say that he shimmered in. Evil Wyatt adopted demon powers, while evil Chris adopted Darklighter powers. It really makes no difference to the story but since that's how things were in the canon I'd rather have it that way. I just wanted to clear that up.

And one other thing. In my version of the story Demons and Whitelighters are on the same side in the Evil Universe that being the good side. Witches, Darklighters, and Elders are on the side of evil. I know that may seem a little strange but since in the show they made evil Chris a Darklighter and evil Gideon was still an Elder, that's just the way it made sense. And both Elders and Whitelighters can still heal.

Point of view switches big time in this chapter several times. I will separate each switch and label it either _Good Universe_ or _Evil Universe_ to make it easier to read.

* * *

**Chapter 19 You Shouldn't Have**

_Good Universe_

If any of them were in the mood to be comical they could have compared the scene to a Mexican standoff, but at that moment neither the Charmed Ones, nor Leo, or even the two darker versions of their sons were in any mood at all to be comical.

Piper reached one hand out clinging to Leo's arm for support as she stared wide eyed at the evil versions of her sons. "How could we let this happen?" she whispered in almost disbelief. "Chris worked so hard to stop Wyatt from becoming evil and look what we ended up doing."

The darker version of Chris rolled his eyes at that. "Oh give it a break, woman. It's not about you and how much you screwed up. It's about your two sons, who at this moment are most likely being held prisoner by the Demon of Hope."

Piper's eyes widened at that and she nearly bit back angrily at him but his words rang true in her ears, so how could she? This wasn't about her. It was about her sons and what they were going through now. So instead of arguing she just nodded and looked down in a slight bit of shame.

Paige smirked at the young man's hateful words though. She wasn't in quite the right frame of mind to have anyone sniping at them. "Well if you have all the answers why don't you tell us how exactly we go about fixing all of this?"

Chris stared at the sickeningly sweet, although sarcastic, version of his aunt and couldn't help his bitter retort. "Paige, I don't know if your version of me ever mentioned this, but do you know just how much I can't stand you in either universe?"

Paige's face fell at those words though, realizing how true they could really be. After everything she had done and said to Chris in their timeline he had every right to hate her. But she never actually imagined hearing the words from him; well sort of from him.

Phoebe though was concentrating as hard as she could on the two evil versions of her nephews and the less than guarded emotions they were throwing off. "You're lying, I can tell," she pointed out a look of scorn on her face for the young man who was verbally attacking her sisters. She then turned to Paige and tried to reassure her. "Don't listen to him. That's not our Chris."

Evil Chris smirked at that statement and shook his head. "And you, you're not much better than she is, with your whole hypocritical concern. You sure weren't so concerned about your nephew when he was just some stupid Darklighter... sorry make that Whitelighter from the future," he said ignoring her denial of his words.

"Listen, this is not helping any of us," Leo interrupted seeing how things were spiraling completely out of control very quickly. "If we are gonna find Barbas and get the kids back we have to work together and quit bickering between each other. They are more important than good and evil right now."

The look of pure loathing on Chris' face did not go unnoticed by anyone in the room. "Even though I hate to admit it, you might be right this time, Leo," he spit out bitterly giving this version of his father a scathing look. He had only barely managed to reconcile with the evil version of his father back in his own universe but there was no way in hell he was gonna treat this all 'blessed be,' goodie-goodie version of the man like he was more than a temporary nuisance in his life.

"Oh hell, Chris, don't tell me that you expect us to actually work with them," Wyatt asked with a voice full of disgust. "We can't count on them. They are, are… uh I don't even want to say the word but… good!"

Chris rolled his eyes at his brother's penchant for stating the obvious. "We have little choice. They are all we have."

"Do either of you have any idea as to where Barbas might have taken the children?" Leo asked ignoring the looks both of them were giving him.

"I'm not sure right now, but we need to get out of here before he sends us a welcoming party," Chris answered. He saw the strange looks they gave him and couldn't believe they were being that dense. "Hello, this is a trap."

With that eight Darklighters shimmered into the room and took aim at Leo and the Charmed Ones.

Piper's hands flew up and she immediately blew up one of the Darklighters while Paige deflected arrows right and left.

"You know, we could use a little help here," she called out to the darker versions of her nephews, who she could see were just standing back watching the fight with looks of amusement on their faces.

Phoebe rushed forward and spin kicked the crossbow from one of the Darklighter's hands but was shocked to see Wyatt and Chris clapping their hands at the sight. "Oh you two are so dead."

Chris and Wyatt looked to each other and shrugged. "You know, we really do need them alive," Chris pointed out.

Wyatt rolled his eyes at that. "Fine! But what do you think Mom would say if she knew we were vanquishing Darklighters?" With that he reached up and flicked his wrist sending three of the Darklighters flying into the walls. Two of them blew up on impact and the other fell unconscious to the floor.

Chris' bow raised and with deadly accurate aim he sent an arrow into one of the attacking foes as he raised his other hand and clutched it sending another to his knees grabbing his chest where his heart had just exploded. "She'd skin us alive, but what other choice do we have?"

Paige stopped an arrow right in front of her face and orbed it right back into the Darklighter it had come from causing him to burst into flames. After that Piper blew up the last standing Darklighter and the room grew quiet accept for their breathing.

Wyatt strode over to the one Darklighter he had knocked unconscious and an energy ball formed on his hand, which he was ready to turn loose to destroy the evil being.

"Wait, don't. We can question him as to where Barbas is," Leo pointed out stepping forward next to the dark version of his oldest son and laid one hand on his arm stilling it.

Wyatt turned to him with a snarl of disgust and yanked his arm away. "Fine. But let's take this elsewhere," he suggested reaching down and touching the Darklighter on the shoulder and shimmered them away. Chris black orbed away behind him and Leo and the girls followed in their own way.

* * *

_Evil Universe_

"Well do you think this could have worked out any worse?" Piper asked glaring at the innocent looking versions of her sons.

Chris and Wyatt shared a look that said volumes. This Piper was even scarier than their own mother. The look of pure malice in her eyes was even icier than some of the looks they had seen their mother give to demons.

"No, this isn't exactly what I had in mind when I came back in time. What do you think, Wy?" Chris asked nervously.

"Me neither," his brother agreed.

"So where do we go from here?" Paige asked looking slightly bored by the conversation already. As far as she was concerned these two goodie-goodies couldn't hold a candle to her evil nephews.

"Well we have to somehow manage to find the younger versions of us and get them back to our universe, along with us of course and then get your sons back to you," Chris suggested.

"And how exactly are we gonna do that since we don't know where Barbas has them?" Piper asked angrily. She honestly didn't care about the two children from that other universe. She was more worried about her own children that were in the clutches of an evil demon. What a concept that was for her. Demons weren't supposed to be evil. They were good. But it didn't matter if the demon was evil or not. He had her sons and no one took her sons.

"See you might be wrong about that. In my original timeline Leo and I came to this world and we found Barbas in the underworld. I'm willing to bet that he's in the same place this time around," Chris suggested pulling information from the new memories he had gained.

"Then what exactly are we waiting for?" Leo asked in a very testy mood.

"Well for one thing, we can't just orb down there without being prepared. We'll need to head back to the manor and collect some vanquishing potions and such," Wyatt said as if he was talking to small children.

Cold laughter sounded throughout the room. "Are you kidding me?" Paige finally asked once the laughter died down.

Wyatt looked to Chris not exactly understanding that. Chris thought he did though. "I'm assuming your Wyatt is pretty all powerful, isn't he?"

Wyatt looked from his brother to the three sisters in confusion. "But I'm sharing the powers of an eight year old."

"So," Phoebe said rolling her eyes.

"Wyatt, evil has no inhibitions. An eight year old who has been raised with no inhibitions can be pretty darn powerful, especially if he's the Twice-blessed." At least that was what Chris was guessing.

"Oh," was Wyatt's only answer to that. He hadn't even thought about that but the thought also made him wonder just how strong he might have been in Chris' original timeline, but he didn't have time to think about that quite yet. "Sorry to disappoint but other than simple telekinesis and exothermic combustion I haven't come into any of my other powers by the time I'm eight."

"My how boring your life must be," Phoebe commented drolly.

Wyatt gave her a scowl, which she returned readily.

"Can we move this conversation away from here?" Chris asked feeling the small hairs on the back of his neck rise.

But just as his words faded away eight demons dressed in white business suits orbed into the room. Chris and Wyatt both stared slightly in shock at the spectacle. "Um, are they Whitelighters?" Wyatt asked in confusion but as one of them readied an energy ball and tossed it towards them his answer was pretty obvious.

"You idiot. Those are demons," Paige called out as a Darklighter bow appeared in her hand and she sent an arrow flying into one of the demons. "But if they were Whitelighters we'd be killing them too," she added winking evilly.

Chris and Wyatt had both ducked the energy ball and Chris swiped his hand out to knock the demon away from them. Wyatt began using the strongest power he possessed and blinked three times as quickly as he could, watching three of the demons disappear into flames.

The demon that Chris had knocked away from them managed to find it's feet again and aimed an energy ball at Phoebe but she used a spin kick to knock the demon's hand away and the ball of energy flew wide hitting one of his fellow demons.

Piper threw her hands up blowing up two of the demons at once using more firepower than Chris or Wyatt had ever seen their mother use. It seemed that not only the children in this universe had gained more power due to the lack of inhibitions.

"Remind me not to piss her off, Chris," Wyatt commented and then turned his head seeing Leo incinerate the last demon with the electric strike power that the Elder's possessed. "Or him for that matter."

"You realize if they wanted, our versions of Mom and Dad could be just as powerful," Chris pointed out and then stepped forward getting everyone's attention. "We need to get out of here before he sends more."

With that he and Wyatt orbed to the Manor and were shortly followed by the rest of the family.

Once they had all reformed in the attic Chris noticed the disgusted look on Piper's face. After everything he had lived through for the past few months the look made him very uncomfortable and he had to remind himself that that woman was not his mother. "What?" he finally asked when the silence became too much to handle.

"It's just hard watching someone who looks almost like my son being… well being so good. I liked my son the way he was. You. Well you scare me," she answered coldly.

Chris again found that he had to remind himself that this woman was not his mother even though she did sound similar to the Piper he had been spending time with for the past few months. "Funny how my own Mom probably would have agreed with you a couple of days ago."

Wyatt had been searching through the attic's contents looking for potion ingredients but those words caught his attention. "Chris, you don't need to think like that. You know Mom doesn't feel that way anymore." Wyatt had worked too hard to bring his family back together to let these alternate versions of them hurt his brother any more than he had already been hurt.

"Would you two like us to leave you alone so you can have a brotherly bonding moment?" Paige asked in a rather patronizing tone.

Wyatt and Chris both looked at her in scorn. How could anyone have a serious conversation with all the sarcastic remarks? But the look on Piper's face changed ever so slightly. "Lay off them, okay," she said turning to her sisters.

Paige and Phoebe both gave her a surprised look and she just shook her head slightly. Wyatt's comment had struck a nerve with her and caused her to think about her own children and the situation they had faced just recently. "Hey, I know what my Chris went through in the last few months, not to mention his shitty life up until that point. I'm sure it wasn't any easier for this one." With her words she glanced back at Chris and tried to see her son in the young man and had to admit there was a certain wounded look in his eyes that reminded her all to much of her own son.

Chris nodded his thanks and looked away from her penetrating stare.

Phoebe and Paige both nodded too looking slightly guilty. Even being evil, family still meant everything to the Halliwells. "All right, so what can we do to help you?" Phoebe asked willing to look past the goodness she could see in the two young men who reminded her so much of her nephews.

But just as she was walking across the attic to join Wyatt at their cauldron several more demons orbed into the attic and the fight was on again. Chris immediately started tossing demons away from all the family members as Wyatt blinked sending demon after demon up in flames. Piper's hands flung right and left destroying as many as she could, while Leo fried them with electricity. Paige black orbed every sharp object she could find at them and Phoebe used martial arts and a deadly looking atheme to destroy as many as she could.

It seemed as if an almost endless flow of demons, and what Wyatt and Chris guessed were this universes version of Whitelighters, just kept orbing into the attic trying desperately to rid the world once and for all of the Halliwells. Barbas was pulling out all of the stops this time to try to keep his two young protégés.

* * *

_Good Universe_

Even though Leo had been reluctant to use his Elder powers in any situation it was obvious that even with the added fire power of the two evil versions of their sons, they were fighting a losing battle, so with a heavy heart he let angry emotions fill his soul as electric bolts of energy flew from his fingers totally disintegrating any demon or Darklighter it touched. But even he was not untouchable as a fireball flew into him knocking him across the attic unconscious.

"Leo," Piper screamed seeing her husband's limp body slam into a cabinet and lay motionless. She immediately flicked her hands at the demon that had downed him and watched as it burst into millions of pieces. She started to rush towards her husband but something in the corner of her eye caught her attention as she saw a demon shimmer in behind Wyatt and slam an energy ball into his back. Even though she knew he was not her son, she felt her heart clench and she turned towards his attacker sending him into oblivion along with the second demon that had shimmered in right beside him. As she glanced around the attic she could no longer see any enemies left standing, but was relieved to see both her sisters still up and moving.

Chris also saw his brother's fate and raced to his side kneeling and placing one hand on his shoulder. "Wyatt, damnit, get up! That wasn't strong enough to kill you." It was easy to see the concern he felt for his brother written plainly across his face even if his words were harsh.

Piper watched this sight frozen in her tracks for an instant but she knew she couldn't stand back and watch as any version of her oldest son died, so she crossed over right behind Chris and stared at Wyatt over his shoulder. "Is he?" she asked her voice breaking slightly.

Chris had rolled him over and had one hand resting on his chest. "He's breathing. I think the shock from the energy ball just stunned him," he said with some relief. He knew it would take alot more than that to kill his brother.

Phoebe had crossed over to Leo and was checking on him also. "Same with Leo. He'll need healed, but he'll live."

Piper glanced to her husband and was torn between being with him and making sure that Wyatt would be all right. But neither of those options mattered for long as one last demon shimmered into the attic and took aim at the nearest undefended target. To Piper's horror that was Chris. The energy ball was let loose before she could even consider blowing the demon up and she did the only thing she could think of. She pushed him forward so he sprawled over his brother but that left her open and unprotected.

The energy ball blasted into her chest right of center, missing her heart, but blasting her off her feet and leaving behind a huge energy burn covering a large part of her chest and shoulder.

* * *

_Evil Universe_

Chris rolled over facing the demon that had just tried to blast him and threw his arm out knocking it backwards and onto a coat rack in the corner. The end of the rack impaled the demon causing it to implode scattering demon goo over half the attic.

His eyes traveled away from the deceased demon and toward Piper. "Oh, god no!" The sight was horrendous and brought up all of his worst fears. He quickly got to his knees and crawled to her side.

Both Phoebe and Paige had moved forward and Phoebe kneeled pulling her sister's head into her lap. Chris grabbed her hand and no longer saw the evil version of his mother, but instead the mother that he had lost so many years before. "Oh god, why? Why'd you have to do that?" he asked as tears came to his eyes and threatened to spill down his cheeks.

Piper drew in a shallow breath and stared up into the gorgeous green eyes of her son and she too pushed back the thought that he was not hers. For in her mind he was. Just a moment before when she had the desperate need to protect him, he had very much been her son and she had acted on that feeling and done what a loving mother should have. "I couldn't bear to lose you," she whispered as matching tears crawled down her cheeks and over her throat soaking into her long brown tresses.

Somewhere in the back of Chris' mind he knew that this woman was not his mother. She wasn't even the Piper from the past that had accepted him hours before as her son. But somewhere along the line in just the short amount of time they had existed in the same reality she too had accepted him as hers and had done the one thing that he knew without a doubt his mother would have always done for him. She had sacrificed herself so that he may live. A sob was ripped from his throat as he let his head sink and rest against the hand that he was holding. "Please no," he whispered as the flood of tears overtook him and he could not hold them back.

Paige and Phoebe too had tears running down their cheeks as they faced a life without their sister. But Paige had been thinking, trying to piece together any idea that would save her sister. "Hey, you and your brother are Whitelighters aren't you? Don't you heal or something?"

Chris looked up to her and shook his head in utter pain and despair. "Wyatt can." He glanced to his brother though and saw no more movement than he had before. "I never could," he ended looking back down feeling again how useless it was to be a Whitelighter who couldn't heal. The same way he had felt when he was fourteen and she had died in his arms.

Phoebe glanced at Paige. "Paige, go find us an Elder, or hell even a Whitelighter if you have to. I don't care how many of them you have to torture. Just get us one. I doesn't matter which."

* * *

_Good Universe_

Paige disappeared into orbs hoping she would be able to find either a Whitelighter or an Elder willing to come and help.

Chris couldn't understand why this Piper had done what she did. She wasn't his Mom, and he couldn't imagine that she truly had any feelings for him in particular. Could she? He couldn't be sure, but one thing he could be sure of was the way he had felt when he turned and saw her chest and shoulder covered with blood. It had torn at a part of him deep down inside that he had thought was locked away along time ago. It was so hauntingly familiar to the night his Mom had died so many years before.

She reached up wanting his hand and somehow he hadn't been able to deny her that one small thing. "You shouldn't have done that," he whispered feeling all of the pain and guilt that her death would bring to him.

Piper squeezed his hand and gave him a weak watery smile. "You can't stop a heart from loving," she whispered to him and raised her other hand to cup the side of his face.

For a moment he considered pulling away from her but her words had ensnared him along with the longing look in her eyes. He knew she was probably imagining her own son and truth be told he was having too hard a time distinguishing her from his own mother at that moment himself. So he would let her pretend, just as he pretended himself.

"Don't go!" he pleaded letting his own emotions swamp over him. "Please, just stay this time."

* * *

_A/N: Okay then, ducking all flying objects. You all know about me and my cliffhangers. I'm just horrible about them. But at least I don't wait forever to update. That's good right?_

_Anyhow, I should mention before anyone points it out, I went slightly off canon in this chapter as far as powers and such and the whole inhibition theory. That's one of my big things. I believe it and think they should have used it in the tv show, but anyhow if you don't like my theory, sorry but I won't change my mind._


	20. Whitelighter Worries

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N:** Well, I was much loved for that last chapter. And for everyone that took me up on the offer to throw stuff at me, thanks I appreciate it.

I should mention that in my version of the timeline Paige has not gained her healing powers yet. I know going by the tv show she would have them by now, but just not the way I wanted to do it.

* * *

**Chapter 20 Whitelighter Worries **

_Good Universe_

_Piper squeezed his hand and gave him a weak watery smile. "You can't stop a heart from loving," she whispered to him and raised her other hand to cup the side of his face._

_For a moment he considered pulling away from her but her words had ensnared him along with the longing look in her eyes. He knew she was probably imagining her own son and truth be told he was having too hard a time distinguishing her from his own mother at that moment himself. So he would let her pretend, just as he pretended himself._

"_Don't go!" he pleaded letting his own emotions swamp over him. "Please, just stay this time."_

"I'm sorry, baby. I don't think I can," Piper said her voice straining with the effort of forcing the words out.

"Please, just try. Paige will be here with help soon," he begged feeling desperate to convince her to stay with them.

Piper just nodded, unable to lie to her son, but knowing how difficult it could sometimes be to find either a free Elder or Whitelighter who was willing to help. They had pissed off a lot of the Powers That Be over the years.

Chris saw the slight nod and felt a hitch in his throat. He could see in her eyes that she truly didn't believe she'd survive this and that knowledge did more damage to his heart and soul than anything else could. How could he have faith if she had none? Tears started to leak from the corners of his eyes and he had to close them for a moment, wishing that when he opened them again, that this would all be just another horrible nightmare.

He felt her thumb caress his cheek where a tear had just fallen and a deep pitiful choking sound left his throat as he tried to hold back the sob that threatened to overcome him. "I can't lose you again," he whispered with a voice filled with more grief than any one person should be able to bear.

* * *

_Evil Universe _

Paige's black orbs had floated away just a moment ago and Chris prayed to himself that somehow the evil version of his Aunt would succeed in her task, and not even the thought of her torturing a Whitelighter could have changed his prayers that she'd do so.

Nothing mattered at that moment in time as he looked down at the woman who to him had become just 'Mom'. No longer Piper. No, Piper had been the persona he had placed onthe version from his own universeto keep himself separated from the pain of losing his mom when he was fourteen. But to him there was no longer a Piper or even an evil Piper. All three women had merged in his mind to become just 'Mom'. Just the woman who had spent so many years comforting and caring for him in any timeline he could remember; the woman who had been willing to give up her marriage to protect her son from an abusive father; the woman who had just willingly sacrificed her life to save his. "This isn't right. You aren't supposed to die yet. I know you aren't," his voice came out choked and raw as he stared into those chocolate eyes that were always so warm and bright but now seemed to dull with the life that drained from her. "Please don't go," he pleaded desperately hoping nothing more than his shear will would keep her there with him.

"I don't want to… I want to stay with you," she whispered feeling how weak she was becoming and knowing it wouldn't be long now. 

"You've gotta fight it, Mom! We can't make it without you," he cried reaching out with his free hand to grasp her uninjured shoulder wanting to gather her up in his arms and hold onto her forever. But as his hand hovered over her for just a second trembling, his eyes widened in disbelief….

* * *

_Good Universe_

He hadn't yet been able to open his eyes. There was just too much overwhelming pain to bear the sight any longer. He had too many memories of her death already burned into his mind and he truly did not want to add another to it. 

But when he heard Phoebe's gasp those startling green eyes flew open to see a bright golden light encompassing his mother and in shock he glanced at his own hands, which were the source of the light. His fingers were splayed out over her and he could see them trembling even as the light encased them.

'_But how could that be? He was a Darklighter!_' But seeing the relief flood her face as the pain slipped away, he decided to keep his mouth shut tight in fear that the golden glow would end if he even dared to remind the universe that he couldn't heal. And he was healing her. He could see her wound closing as the burn mark faded away and the blood that covered her shoulder just flat out disappeared. 

After a few short moments the glow faded and Piper shat up shakily with eyes filled with joy and pride for her youngest son.

Paige took that moment to orb back in with a half-terrified Whitelighter trailing behind her. It was not hard to see that she had put the fear of an angered Halliwell into the angel. But as her eyes grazed over her already healed sister she waved the being away, and it was plain to see the relief on his face as his orbs faded into nothing just as fast as he had appeared. "Okay, what did I miss?"

Phoebe and Piper both stared at Chris in awe and he pulled back slightly with both his hands still hovering in the air between he and his mother, a look of confusion coloring his features.

Phoebe decided to answer her sister's question seeing that neither Piper, nor Chris were speaking at the moment. Their eyes were locked on each other, Piper's filled with tears of joy and Chris,' also tear filled, but tainted with a small amount of fear over what he'd just done. "Chris just healed Piper."

Paige's mouth dropped open in complete disbelief as she stared at the dark presence that was her nephew. "How?"

Chris' head started shaking back and forth in an almost denial that he'd done any such thing. "I can't heal. I'm a Darklighter."

"Apparently you can, now," Piper said reaching out to grasp one of his hands, which she could see were shaking so bad now that she feared he would collapse in shock at any moment. "It's okay, Chris. You just did what you had to, what came natural to you."

Those words didn't seem to help any as he pulled his hand from hers and moved back to sit next to his brother staring at the floor in front of him. He needed to get away from them and be close to the only person he felt could really understand what he was going through. His hands had yet to stop shaking though and he clasped them together tightly feeling totally out of sorts with all the emotions running through him.

The three sisters shared a look of worry over the way he seemed to be closing off from them. Paige though, seeing an opportunity to possibly help both darker versions of her nephews, spoke up. "You know, you could always heal him," she said glancing towards the blonde who was still completely oblivious to the world.

Chris' eyes widened in horror at the thought. What would his brother do if he all of a sudden woke to find him healing him? He'd try to vanquish him on the spot. That's what he'd do. His head shook in utter fear at the concept. 

Paige's eyes rolled at this and she was about to berate the young man until she heard a groan from behind them. They all turned to see Leo stirring. Somehow in the fear of the moment they had forgotten him. "Oops, guess I let that Whitelighter go too soon."

The sisters crossed over to him and helped him to sit up and after a few moments he shook off the aftereffects of the fireball. He eventually assured them that he'd be fine without healing. "Don't worry, I'm fine." He stared around the room though and noticed Wyatt lying as still as death and Chris staring at the floor between his feet as if he was completely lost. "My god," he cried standing and rushing towards them.

Chris though saw his movement and threw his hand out shoving Leo back with telekinesis. The blow wasn't as rough as his usual attempts and only managed to stagger the Elder slightly but the scathing look he gave him warned him to stay away. "Don't touch him!"

"Chris, Leo can heal him. You don't want him to suffer, do you?" Phoebe tried to convince him to let Leo near his brother.

"He'd rather suffer than to be healed, I promise you," Chris bit out angrily. He knew it wasn't completely true. Elders still healed in his own universe so it wasn't a big deal really. But his mind was still reeling from the fact that he had just used healing powers himself, something he should have never been able to do. 

* * *

_Evil Universe_

As the golden glow faded Chris realized that his mouth was hanging open in complete awe at what he had done. He had healed her, really healed her. The one Whitelighter ability that had always eluded him before had finally found it's way into his soul. His Aunt Paige had always told him that he'd be able to heal when he truly needed it the most, but after his fourteenth birthday he had stopped believing her when she said that. He hadn't been able to heal his mom no matter how hard he'd tried on that day. He stared down at his hands and realized that maybe the time he needed it the most just hadn't happened in his life yet, not until this very day. 

He looked back up to Piper's face and could see a smile crack her lips for him. Part of him had expected to see disappointment there. After all he had done something very good, but no she didn't seem upset in the least that he had just gained a new Whitelighter power. She seemed almost proud. "Are you okay?" he asked tentatively. 

"I'm fine now," she answered sitting up just as blue and black orbs lit the room and Paige reappeared with a very terrified looking Whitelighter in her clutches. The Whitelighter knew that if a Halliwell caught you, you were as good as dead. 

But Paige's eyes widened in shock to see her sister sitting up and looking just fine. This surprise caused her to let go of the Whitelighter's shirt giving him the opportunity to orb away from them. But she didn't even seem to notice. "Okay, what did I miss?"

"Chris healed Piper," Phoebe said smirking. She knew that the thought of her nephew healing anyone should bother her, but considering the fact that she knew he wasn't her nephew really and the fact that Piper was safe… well it just didn't seem to bother her all that much.

"But you said you couldn't heal," Paige questioned in confusion. "Why the hell did I search all of creation for a Whitelighter if you could heal?"

Chris flinched at her angry words; not what he'd expected somehow. "Well I never have before. Paige… well the other Paige from my universe always told me that I'd learn to heal whenever I needed it the most. I guess I really needed it this time."

"Apparently so," Piper said standing with her sister's help. "I'm glad she was right."

Paige glanced around the room for the first time realizing that they had two more family members down. "You think you should heal them too?" she asked glancing at Leo and Wyatt.

Chris looked from Leo to his brother and sighed. He wasn't so concerned about Leo. He was an Elder after all and wouldn't feel the affects as much but he truly wanted to help Wyatt. If he did that though… "I don't think I should. Healing is way too good a power and I shouldn't be using it in this universe if I can help it. Your Chris can't heal, so it might really mess things up. I'm afraid I'll disturb the balance too much or something. I remember what hell life was the last time that balance got messed up."

At that moment a groan came from Leo and they all turned to him as he started to stir. Chris moved back next to Wyatt and sat calmly watching what was to come. 

The sisters helped Leo to stand and were assured by him that he would be just fine, then he noticed the other two across the attic from him. For a moment he forgot that those were not his sons and wanted to rush forward to check on Wyatt, but then it struck him that they weren't and he slowed his pace as he strode across the room. "Is he okay?" he asked Chris who nodded and looked up to him.

"Leo can heal him," Piper suggested still fearful for the good version of her oldest son. "That wouldn't hurt the balance. Leo heals all the time."

Leo glanced at her and his eyes squinted in slight confusion. Piper wasn't at all acting herself. It seemed almost as if she cared for the two young men. Sure he knew she loved her own children. Evil was still capable of love. But these two were not her sons. But he wouldn't argue with her as he turned back to Chris and shrugged slightly as he nodded.

Chris contemplated the idea for a moment and came to the conclusion that it in fact would work. He nodded and turned to Wyatt waiting for Leo to heal him.

* * *

_Good Universe_

"Listen, Chris. I know you don't like us or trust us but I won't do anything to hurt your brother. He's still Wyatt and I couldn't ever possibly hurt any version of my son," Leo tried to convince Chris to let him near his older brother. 

But at his words Piper made a small sound in the back of her throat, knowing how wrong her husband was about part of that statement. This Chris did love them, well at least one of them.

Leo glanced at her and saw the way she stared at Chris with such sympathy and what he might even consider love. Something had happened and he had missed it. That was obvious. He reached out and grabbed her hand squeezing it and bringing her attention to him as he nodded ever so slightly to Chris. He had a hunch that she out of any of them would be most likely to get through to him. 

Piper nodded and kneeled on the floor just about a foot in front of Chris and waited for him to look at her. After several long seconds he finally did and she gave him a small smile to reassure him. "Chris, none of us would ever hurt you or your brother. You've gotta know how I feel about you right now and I know how you feel about me too."

Leo couldn't understand where the deep-seated love he heard in his wife's voice was coming from but part of him envied her for her quick acceptance of the darker versions of her sons. Leo wasn't exactly sure he could be that quick to accept.

Chris glanced to Wyatt and a large sigh left his lips. "He's gonna hate me," he whispered.

They all looked at him in shock at that statement, but Phoebe reacted first. "Why?"

Chris' gaze was yanked back to the people in front of him and his voice continued in an outraged tone. "You saw what I did! That wasn't right. I'm a Darklighter, not a Whitelighter. I traveled back through time to keep Wyatt from turning good and look at me. I'm such a hypocrite."

"Chris, you are not a hypocrite. You saved Piper's life, and no one can blame you for that, not even your brother," Phoebe spoke up hoping to push away her nephew's despair.

Leo's face blanched as he looked from Chris to Piper. He had missed much more than he had ever imagined. "Piper?" he questioned as his mouth went completely dry.

Piper shifted her body slightly towards Leo and reached one hand up for him to take from where he stood beside her, but her eyes never left those of her sons. "Chris healed me," she whispered still feeling an overwhelming love for him that nothing could overshadow at that moment.

Those words caused Chris to look down in almost shame, unable to face any of them. It just wasn't right. They all were looking at him like he was some kind of hero or something and it was too much for him to handle. 

Leo's mouth gaped slightly and he was completely speechless. Piper had almost died and Chris had somehow managed to draw on Whitelighter powers to save her, but how could a Darklighter do that? Unless somehow their influence was affecting his morality. Leo knew that even though it sounded wonderful to someone dedicated to the greater good, it must be terrifying the poor boy. He could see the dejected look on his face and nothing could hide the shame he felt. 

Then a possibility struck him and it made perfect sense. Leo knew he could helpthe young Darklighterto deal withwhat he had donebut he had to know one thing first. "Chris, do you regret saving Piper?"

Piper gasped and pulled her hand from Leo's as her eyes swiveled up to glare at him but Leo wasn't paying attention to that as he watched Chris' reaction. And it was just as he both suspected and hoped for. The young man's face rose and anger literally seethed though every pore in his body. "Hell no, I don't regret it. No matter what she's like, she's still Mom!"

Leo smiled at that admission and glanced down to Piper, who's gaze had went back to her son. "You have nothing to worry about, Chris. You didn't heal Piper. Well not exactly."

"Whoa, Leo, what?" Paige interjected as they each glared at him in anger, except for Chris who had turned hopeful eyes on the man.

Leo decided that he probably should get to explaining before Piper decided to blow him up. Even if it wouldn't kill him, it did hurt like hell. "You are still a Darklighter. If you don't believe me call for your bow."

Chris raised one hand and tested the statement watching happily as the bow appeared in his hand. Paige shrunk away slightly hating the deadly weapon with a passion. Chris saw her reaction and gave her a quirky smile before he vanished the weapon again. Then he waited patiently for the rest of Leo's explanation.

"You may not be a Whitelighter, but the other Chris from this universe is indeed half Whitelighter. Apparently he needed to heal someone desperately in the other universe and his powers expanded," Leo explained feeling very proud that his son had finally gained the one Whitelighter power that he had been deprived of.

"But how did this Chris heal me?" Piper asked in confusion.

"I'm assuming that after the last time the balance between the universes was disturbed that the Elders from both universes cast some kind of enchantment that would keep the two universes balanced. It makes sense," Leo said giving them the only explanation he could think of that would fit.

But Chris had caught onto something else in Leo's words. "Wait, who did he have to heal?" Worry poured through him like an icy-cold stream as he realized that he already knew the answer to the question, but did not want to face it.

Piper could see the fear run through his eyes and reached out again wanting to comfort him. "Hey, look at me. If I'm fine, so is she. That's the only way the balance could be kept. You're Mom is fine." Piper couldn't believe how much it hurt to call another woman his Mom, but it was the truth. There was another woman in that other universe, who knew this young man a lot better than she did and had loved him just as much as she did for a lot longer.

Chris stared up at her reassuring gaze and nodded knowing that she had to be right. His Mom was okay. Then he glanced back at Wyatt's still form and nodded at him. "All right then. Do what you have to."

Leo moved around Piper and kneeled next to Wyatt extending his hands and letting his healing powers flow. After a few seconds his eyes flew open and he groaned slightly.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," Paige spoke up from just a few feet away.

Wyatt scowled at her and sat up looking distastefully at Leo's hands, which were mere inches from him. "What the hell happened?"

"Demon, energy ball in the back, you know the normal," Phoebe answered smiling at the young man.

Wyatt stared at her like she had grown an extra head. "Maybe normal for you," he answered and then turned to his brother. "They give you any trouble while I was out?"

Chris didn't look straight at his brother as he reluctantly answered the question. "No, not really." His answer was quiet and his eyes still focused on the floor beside him.

Wyatt's eyes squinted in frustration. That was not how he would expect his brother to answer. "What's wrong?"

Chris shook his head trying to break out of the emotional funk he had been sinking into and then took a deep breath and gazed up at his brother. "Nothing. I'm just fine." Then he added just to try to assure his brother. "Don't we have a demon to interrogate?"

Most of the family had forgotten about the demon that Wyatt had brought back from the magic school. He was still lying unconscious next to the far wall. They each glanced in his direction and Piper's eyes raised at the implication in Chris' voice. However they planned on interrogating the demon Piper could almost feel sorry for the creature.

* * *

_A/N: So who wants to see evil Wyatt and Chris interrogate the demon? My, this might be fun for me. Okay, yeah, I know that chapter had nothing to do with the main storyline and I probably just did it because I wanted to write some more about evil Chris, but you have to admit that it's cool that he feels comfortable with the good versions of his family too, not to mention how well the other Chris is getting along in the evil universe. It seems that the story has two, maybe three more chapters left. __**large sigh**__ I always hate when I get to the end of a story. _


End file.
